


DanganPersona: You Can (Not) Recall

by Need_More_Noot



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Persona Series
Genre: Everyone Has Issues, Honestly this one is going to be hard to tag, Implied Sexual Content, Misunderstandings, Multi, Why did this get deleted? Why did I write this?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29987469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Need_More_Noot/pseuds/Need_More_Noot
Summary: (This was just a crack fanfic idea that went a little overboard)Hajime Hinata has moved to the big city with his ex Nekomaru after an incident at his old home town. However, a mysterious event occurs, allowing for him to awaken to the power of Personas to fight off Shadows with other people from his school.However, nothing is ever right. And as the situations begin to twist and take an even more sinister shape, he and his friends may just end up collapsing under the pressure. Or will they push themselves past their own insecurities and pain?
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Nidai Nekomaru, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Kuwata Leon, Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Repitition Within The (New) Beginning

**[4.06.2010]**

**[Late Night]**

_ My hometown was something that I, for whatever reason, used to take pride in. Despite it being small, it had a charm to it which was undeniable. Everyone knew everyone, and every person who lived there treated the other like they were family. It was cozy, it was… comfortable… Truly it's a shame it got ruined by some nutjob who decided to bomb multiple buildings at once, killing tens of thousands of people in the process. _

_ 4,013 people were caught in the blasts, and of that group, around 3,501 of them died. I,  _ **_Hajime Hinata_ ** _ , somehow ended up being a part of the 5,012 who by some miracle survived. It’s why I’m moving in with that goofball of a muscleman and his crazy family. It’s why I’m being enrolled into  _ **_Hope’s Peak Academy_ ** _. It’s why I had to say goodbye to my mother as she was grieving over my father’s death, just because I wanted to not stay in a place where I had to watch people scream and burn in front of me. It’s why I’m on this train ride. _

_ Not going to lie… I just want something less... stressful. Something… more normal? _

_ I’m… feeling kind of sleepy… right now. _

**CHAPTER 1: REPETITION WITHIN THE (BEGINNING)**

**[4.07.2010]**

**[Morning]**

_ Once the rattling of the train stopped, I couldn’t help but crack a small smile on my face when the sunlight began to shine on my face. I always feel invigorated by its presence, like it was some guardian watching over me. I even dreamed of having a house on the beach when I was smaller. And even though I laugh at that dream now, I still think it fuels me somehow. _

_ Stepping out of the train door, the sound of dozens of people chattering made me nervous. Even though I’m an extrovert, being in a dense city made me kind of anxious. Regardless of that, I pushed my feet forward and muttered reassuring words to myself as I left the subway and entered the busy streets above. _

**Hajime:** “It’s okay Hajime, you got this. This is a new start. A new chance to-”

**Boisterous Voice:** “HAJIME!!!!!!!”   
  
_ Hearing that voice, I couldn’t help but yelp as a massive, hulking figure tackled me to the ground. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I squirmed my way out from underneath the giggling mass of muscles and felt my smile wither away into a concerning scowl. _

**Hajime:** “Hey  **Nekomaru** … How are you doing besides that attempt on my life?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “OH HAJIME, WHY’RE YOU SAYING SUCH CRUEL THINGS? NOW WHY DON’T YOU GIVE ME A HEARTY LAUGH!”   
  
**Hajime:** “No.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Geez. Don’t be a buzzkill. I just wanted to hear you laugh.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Anyways. Did you come to pick me up like you promised or no?”   
  


**Nekomaru:** “Why of course Hajime. Why else would I be here for my bro?”

**Hajime:** “You know that we used to date right, back when you lived…”

_ Nekomaru leaned closer to me, putting his massive arms around my back. Even though I wanted to have a fresh start, I still wanted SOMETHING to connect me to my hometown. So I guess that’s why I picked living with Nekomaru. _   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Now now Hajime, let’s get you to the dorm.”

**Hajime:** “Wait, I thought you lived in an apartment with your family.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Nope.”

_ Why didn’t you tell me this?  _

_ I felt myself tense up as the scowl returned. _

**Hajime:** “Hold on. Why didn’t you tell me that you lived in a dormitory instead of an apartment? Will I have to pay for this?”

_ As soon as I said that, Nekomaru took his arm off of my shoulder and began scratching his nose. _   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Well, you never asked me about where we were going to be staying. And as for that second one… well, for you, you don’t have to pay anything for this. You’ll be staying there for free.”   
  
_ Nekomaru let out a laugh which made me relax a little bit. I guess he’ll never change. _

**Nekomaru:** “Seriously though, let’s go. I need to take a massive shit.”

_ Yep. You haven’t changed. _

* * *

_ As I looked at the outside of the dorm, I felt somewhat disappointed. It looked like every other building, with its generic brick walls and even a bit of graffiti on the left side of the building. But I didn’t really mind it. It is where I was going to be staying for the rest of my school life. _

**Nekomaru:** “So, ladies first?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Oh shut it!”

_ Rolling my eyes, I stepped inside, I was shocked to see that, despite what it looked like on the outside, the inside looked absolutely pristine. The walls were clean and obviously beige, contrasted by a dark brown wooden flooring which looked like it was incessantly cleaned every day. And after I took off my shoes, I touched my feet onto the green carpet which blanketed the floor in front of the door. _

**???:** “Welcome to the dorm, fellow schoolmate.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Huh?”   
  
_ A man in a bright white uniform and with red eyes and black hair approached me. I don’t really know why, but I felt my hair beginning to stand on end as he pressed his finger onto my chest. _

**Red Eyed Boy:** “I was trying to greet you. My name is  **Kiyotaka Ishimaru** , however you can just call me  **Taka** . I am a third year at Hope’s Peak Academy and the president of the Student Council. Though you could probably figure that out since this is a dormitory for Hope’s Peak.”

_ Huh… kind of an interesting fellow, but he seems nice enough. _

**Hajime:** “Ah so you-”   
  
**Taka:** “IT’S RUDE TO NOT INTRODUCE ONESELF AFTER THE OTHER PARTY ALREADY DID SO!”

_ Okay so maybe my assessment was wrong. _   
  
**Hajime:** “Oh. Well my name is Hajime Hinata. I’m going to be a fourth year at Hope’s Peak… I guess.”

**Taka:** “WAIT, does that mean you’re the transfer student?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Yes. We’ve told you this already Taka… now if you excuse me, I NEED TO GO TAKE A SHIT!”

_ Nekomaru ran up the stairs as I gave out a small chuckle. Taka, however, wasn’t taking it the same way. His arms were visibly shaking as his comically large eyebrows furrowed as he turned towards the staircase. _

**Taka:** “I’VE TOLD YOU THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN, STOP RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE STAIRCASE! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF YOU DO!”

**Hajime:** “Are you always this stingy about stuff like that?”

_ Taka spun around to face me. His face, which was red with both rage and embarrassment, quickly composed itself. It was almost as if it was natural for him to hide those feelings. _

**Taka:** “Of course I am. Rules and standards are important to uphold, unless you want to become some sort of lazy criminal like Leon.”

**Hajime:** “ **Leon** ?”

**Taka:** “Oh you’ll meet him at some point in your stay here. He’s one of the other people who live in this dormitory. Anyways, what brings you out here? I remember Nekomaru telling me that you came from the sticks, even though he didn’t say your name or where exactly you’re from.”

**Hajime:** “Well.. I went through some stuff and I decided to come here for a fresh start.”

_ Taka’s eyebrows furrowed. Even though his gaze was gentle, it was also filled with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. _   
  
**Taka:** “Now I won’t pry into that. I just want to know, okay. Now, your room is at the very end of the hallway on the second floor. If you need anything, come to me. Do you understand?”

**Hajime:** “Yes sir.”

**Taka:** “...You know… I didn’t prepare something to welcome you here.”

_ Taka shifted his head side to side, before immediately bowing down, with a few tears welling up in his eyes. _

**Taka:** _ “ _ I’m sorry! I’m so so so so so so so sorry. Please forgive me, hit me if you have to I-”

**Hajime:** “Whoa whoa WHOA! Calm down Taka. I’m not going to hit you.”   
  
_ The man looked up at me, he was now a sobbing mess. _

  
**Taka:** “Bu-B-B-But I need you to. That’s the only way for my consciousness to be cleared up.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Okay fine, whatever.”

_ As I raised my hand, Taka flinched. But his face relaxed when I began to run my fingers through his hair. He slowly raised his body up, before speed walking towards… a bar!? _

_ What a weird person… and what a weird situation in general. _

**Hajime:** “WELL, IF ANYONE NEEDS ME, YOU CAN CALL ME ON MY PHONE! I’M GOING TO BE EXPLORING THE CITY, GOT IT!”

_ I heard someone grumble something from the floor above. However I didn’t recognize it as either Nekomaru’s or Taka’s voice. Though considering that this is a dormitory, I really shouldn’t be surprised at it. _

* * *

_ The city was a lot larger than what I expected it to be. I felt like a rat inside of a house of dogs, all waiting for me to make some fatal, crucial mistake. Walking aimlessly, I found my way to what appeared to be a massive mall. _

**_Kaine Mall?_ **

_ Walking into the mall was a… strange experience. There were four stores which immediately grabbed my attention. There was a bookstore, which had a bright, glowing neon sign. An occult store, where various objects were strewn about on the windows allowing view to the inside. A ramen shop, which made my stomach growl just by looking at it. And finally a… club? Didn’t expect that of all things to be here. _

_ Well… I’m not that used to city life so I guess that I really shouldn’t really be surprised. _

* * *

**[Late Night]**

_ Finally, after hours of walking through the city, I flicked the lightswitch and opened the door to my new bedroom. And it was pretty much barren. Minus the expected stuff, along with my luggage, the only thing that stood out to me as not belonging was a present which was lying neatly on the bed. Looking at the tag attached to it, I could say with enough certainty that Nekomaru was the one who left it there. _

**Hajime:** “Are these dumbbells… again?”

_ Glancing to the corner of my room, I saw the dumbbells I brought with me to the dormitory. They were originally Nekomaru’s, until I asked him if I could borrow them. _

_ And right on que, the man himself knocked on the open door, trying to get my attention. _

**Nekomaru:** “So what did you think of the city?”

**Hajime:** “Well… it definitely is outside of my comfort zone.”

**Nekomaru:** “Isn’t that a good thing though? I mean that’s what you wanted. You wanted something new and fresh.”

**Hajime:** “Well, I suppose I did ask for this.”

**Nekomaru:** “Anyways, I’m here to inform you that you should be going to bed soon. It’s getting close enough to time that I have to say this now.”   
  
_ Close enough to time??? _

**Hajime:** “What do you mean by that?”

_ Nekomaru just remained silent. However his face gave off a tinge of sadness. I knew that Nekomaru always wore his heart on his sleeve, so whenever that look appears, I can’t help but get worried. _

**Hajime:** “Neko-”

**Nekomaru:** “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow night, at eleven thirty. You can meet me and Taka at Kaine Mall.”

_ Just like that, he flicked the light switch off and closed the door behind him as he left me there, confused as to what he was saying. _

_ Even though I wanted to go after him and ask him what he meant, my body refused due to fatigue. Sighing in disappointment, I undressed myself, and felt frustration as I realized the only brought one pair of underwear like a moron. Self loathing on my mind, I slipped under the bed naked and tried to cover my head in shame. _

_ And like that, I was out like a light. _

**[???]**

_ My eyes flicked open to the sound of water hitting my chin. Getting up, I noticed that I was definitely not in the same room I feel asleep in. Instead of the beige wallpaper, the room was surrounded by padding and steel, all the same velvet color. Looking to my left, I saw a hallway leading to a doorway. Instead of a door, there was a velvet curtain, with a soft, blue glow emanating from the other side. _

_ Curiosity leading me astray, I went down the hall. Looking around my shoulders in case there was someone who tried to attack me. Due to this, I noticed that the hallway had bolted windows, with water leaking out of one of them. _

_ Lifting the curtain… I saw only a blue glow consume my vision. _

**???:** “Welcome to the  **Velvet Room** … unfortunately. My master isn’t here, so please excuse me as I send you on your way this time. Once again, I am incredibly sorry for this.”

_ The blue light faded into white. As I couldn’t comprehend the words being said to me, I felt a ringing in my ears. And when my eyes opened once again, I was in my dorm room. _

**Hajime:** “Goddamn it. Now I feel like an anxious wreck.”   
  
_ I looked at the time on my phone. _

**[04:01]**

_ Why did I wake up at this time? _

* * *

**[4.08.2010]**

**[School]**

_ Seeing the sun glimmer across the ocean as I rode to Hope’s Peak on a train just... made me forget about the dream of whatever the hell that was. I didn’t have much time to focus on it however, as the train went underground, into a familiar, shadowy abyss. And even though it wasn’t long, the fact that I was completely alone in this cart made me feel cold and depressed. I was capable of distracting himself, however, when I received a message from Nekomaru. _

**Nekomaru [Message]:** “Hey Hajime. I just wanted to send you this message in hopes of giving you the motivation to keep on trucking for your first day. I know how hard it is, especially when you’re starting as a senior so… Good luck.”

_ Thanks. _

_ When the light returned and the train stopped, I took a moment to refocus my attention onto the task at hand. School was more important right now. My feet stepped out of the train door, and for the second time, I put a small smile on my face and stepped into the sun’s light once again. _

_ The school had this look to it that I can’t really describe. It gave off a very, well, hopeful feeling which anybody could get inspiration from. It made me feel invigorated, seeing the five story tall building which I’d be spending my time in for the rest of my school life. Going to a new school always motivates me to try harder… especially since stuff like friends weren’t really a focus back when I was in my hometown. _

_ Squeezing my way through the crowd of other students, I gave out a sigh of relief as I was finally able to enter the building. When I stepped inside, I saw a brief flash of blue in my eyes. My head suddenly began to ache for a brief moment, causing me to crouch down to the floor. But just as quickly as the flash appeared, it vanished. _

**???:** “Hey. Are you okay?”

**Hajime:** “Wha-?”

**???:** “I asked if you were okay. Geez, don’t men tend to listen?”

**Hajime:** “I’m sorry for making you worry about me… I’m fine. But I appreciate the concern.”

_ I picked myself up and tried to steady myself. The stranger in front of me put their hands on my arms and helped me in this fact. Now I’m INCREDIBLY curious as to what the hell that dream was. _

**Red Haired Girl:** “You’re absolutely sure you’re alright?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Yeah yeah, I am… who are you anyways?”

**Red Haired Girl:** “Oh? Well you can call me  **Mahiru Koizumi** . I’m a fourth year here… I’ve never seen you here before, are you a transfer student or something?”

**Hajime:** “I am. My name is Hajime, I’m also a fourth year student here so I guess we have that in common.”

_ Mahiru gives me a stern, hardened look at me, like I did something to disappoint her. Did I do something wrong? I mean, I only just met her so it’s not like she had time to build expectations or anything. _

**Mahiru:** “So uh… what’s your homeroom?”   
  
_ And this is officially awkward now… like every conversation I seem to have lately. _

**Hajime:** “Uh… Class Seventy Seven-C, if I recall correctly.”   
  
_ And just like that, a tiny smile appeared on her face. _

**Mahiru:** “Oh. we’re in the same class… Guess it must be fate?”   
  
**Hajime:** “I guess so.”

**Mahiru:** “Well, we do have only three minutes till class starts so…”   
  
_ Suddenly, Mahiru began sprinting down the checkered hallways towards the staircase. A realization washed over me. WELL SHIT, I need to go. _

_ I felt a sense of fear overwhelm me as I dashed towards the classroom marked as 77-C. Running up metal stairs, walking past students I have yet to know, and even ignoring a familiar voice which shouted out for me to stop running down the halls. I didn’t care, I just didn’t want to be late. I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of my classmates on the first day. _

_ Opening the door to my homeroom, I stumbled my way into the classroom, tripping on one of my shoelaces which suddenly came undone. It’s almost as if luck itself was against me.  _

_ Great, now I’ve made a fool of myself. _

_ Fortunately for me, nobody really paid attention to that. So my reputation was saved… until I heard one final person slide the door open. Taka. _

**Taka:** “Why you… because you ran in the halls I’m late to class because I have to give you a slip an-Oh… did you trip or something?”   
  
_ Damn it… now everyone is staring at me. _

**Hajime:** “U-uh I… I…”   
  
_ Taka, thinking that he made a mistake, bowed at me before swiftly walking away. Leaving me as the sole attention of everyone’s eyes. I heard a tiny snicker from a small blonde girl, who quickly darted her eyes away from me as soon as I looked at the rest of the class. _

_ First day of school and now you’re an embarrassment… I wonder what my father would think about this _

**???:** “Alright class.”

_ Their attention immediately shifted away from me, and turned towards the homeroom teacher. He gave off a charismatic vibe that made everyone calm and collected. _

**Charismatic Teacher:** “My name is Sosuke Ichino. Though you can call me Mr. Ichino. I’ll be your homeroom teacher.”

_ Great. _

**Mr. Ichino:** “Now, what’re your names?”

* * *

**[Monday, Late Night]**

_ It was way too late for me to be up. I was outside the entrance of the now closed Kaine Mall, listening to some soft tunes on my phone as several cars passed by. Patiently tapping my feet. But before long, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Taka, all by his lonesome. _

**Hajime:** “Where’s Nekomaru?”   
  
**Taka:** “Well Hajime, we have two new people living at the dormitory. And so I was rudely interrupted from my studying to accompany you. And since Nekomaru is my senior, I did what I was asked.”   
  
**[23:30]**

**Hajime:** “Alright so… what do we do now?”   
  
**Taka:** “Well, we wait until midnight.”

**Hajime:** “MIDNIGHT!? WHY?!”

**Taka:** “KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN! We might attract unwanted attention if you continue yelling.”

_ But you just yelled!? _

**[23:31]**

**Hajime:** “So… why don’t we pass the time with some small talk?”

**Taka:** “Small talk?”

**Hajime:** “Yeah like… what’s your hobbies? What did you do today? Stuff like that.”

**Taka:** “I see…”

_ Sweat suddenly began pouring out of Taka’s pores… what’s up with him? He almost seems afraid of continuing the conversation. _

**[23:32]**

**Taka:** “Can I ask you something?”

**Hajime:** “Sure. What is it?”

**Taka:** “Have you ever felt like you… can’t really make friends?”

_ Oh… well this will be interesting. _

**Hajime:** “Well… back when I lived in my hometown, everyone knew each other like they were neighbors. However, I never really could consider any of them ‘friends’ per say.”   
  
**Taka:** “So you do understand how I feel.”

_ Taka. Why are you bringing this up now? _

**Taka:** “Growing up, I never really had friends. Especially after some stuff I went through in my family involving my grandfather. I mostly just go to school and study. So… I guess the main reason I’m telling you this is because… well, will you be my friend?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Taka I-”   
  
_ I honestly don’t know what to say here. I just stopped myself from finishing that sentence and sat there in silence. _

**[23:50]**

_ After what felt like hours of silence, Taka finally made a sound. The coughing sound he made was loud and sharp, grasping for my attention.  _

**Taka:** “It’s almost time.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Time till what?”   
  
**Taka:** “What if I told you that there were more than twenty four hours in every day?”   
  
_...What? _ _  
_ _  
_ **Hajime:** “What do you mean? That’s ridiculous.”   
  
**Taka:** “I know. It does, and to be honest, I never believed it myself when I was told about it. That is until I saw it for the first time myself. It’s called the  **Dark Hour** .”

_ I couldn’t even understand what was just told to me when Taka pulled out a gun. _

**Taka:** “Don’t worry, this is not a real gun. I would never carry a real gun, since it’s immoral to do so, and that is UNACCEPTABLE.”   
  
_ Sure looks real to me. _

_ Taka looked at his watch, and his eyebrows furrowed. _

**Taka:** “It’s eleven fifty-nine. Be ready.”

**Hajime:** “B-be read-?”   
  
_ The streetlights above turned off, along with my music, which perplexed me. The sky became a deep, greyish green as my confusion increased. There’s no such thing as this… Dark Hour stuff. So why the hell did all of that turn off?  _

_ I looked at my phone and, despite it being fully charged by the time I got here, it seemed to act like the battery was dead. Interestingly enough, a click sound audibly sounded across the now empty world. And with that, Taka, who was muttering something inaudible under his breath, suddenly stopped. He turned to my direction, and raised the gun closer to his chest. _

_ Turning towards the clicking noise, I saw something that made me gawk. _

_ It was like a lion, on all four, no, six legs. Hunting for… something. It’s white mane was so bright that I barely missed the icicles and rotting tumors on its back, veins bulging out of leathery skin. A black ooze dripped from its stomach, showing a visible trail of black, leading towards… a coffin? _

_ Taka drew the gun and… POINTED IT TO HIS HEAD!? _

**Taka:** “STAY BACK, I’LL TAKE CARE OF THIS  **SHADOW** !”

_ The beast turned towards the two of us, making an unnatural snarl. It began rushing towards us, the tumors on its back writhing as all I could do is stare in disbelief, my body unwilling to move.  _

_ Taka was breathing heavily and harshly, the gun still pointed at his head. I don’t know why he was doing this but… strangely enough, I wasn’t all that concerned for him, despite the fact that he had what looked like a gun pointed at his head. _

_ This felt… dull… boring. This was… bor- _

_ Snapping me out of my thoughts was the sound of Taka flying through the air, a giant slash mark carved around his white uniform. Utter fear trembled through my body as I twisted my body towards the beast, which completely ignored me and instead rushed towards the unconscious Taka. _

_ The stress was too great. _

**???:** “Can you hear me?”   
  
_ Huh? _

_ Why is nothing moving? _ _  
_ _  
_ **???:** “You can, can’t you.”   
  


_ I can. _

**???:** “That feeling. Harness it. Use it to protect those who you desire to protect.”   
  
_ And how can I do that? _

**???:** “You know how to do it. Harness the inner Shadow, manipulate it for your own purposes. Realize your potential.”   
  
_ Time seemed to resume once more. The stress seemed to well up to unimaginable heights as I could only say one thing. _

**Hajime:** “ **Per…** **sona**?”

_ A bright light caressed my body, and the beast looked away from Taka, staring directly at my soul. The bright light began to take shape into some sort of humanoid with a wooden body, grass like hair, goat hooves for feet, and deformed horns. But the thing that stood out the most to me was its stone cold stare.  _

**???:** “I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I have come. I am  **Pan, God of the Wild** . I shall be your guide, my other self.”

_ An unholy screech sounded from Pan or whatever it was called. And it rushed towards the beast with an intimate rage. My head began to blister in pain as my vision became a blur of the green sky and a blue nightmare. My vision was slowly beginning to refocus as a powerful gust of wind cut my skin and I heard a powerful shriek fade off into the distance _

_ Finally, my vision became clear again. And both beasts were missing. _

_ But before I could move myself towards Taka… I blacked out. _

* * *

**[???]**

_ I was awakened to the feeling of water dripping on my chin, a familiar confusion washing over him as he saw the familiar velvet steel walls leading to that dastardly hallway.with the dim light. I sighed in annoyance as I began to traverse my way through the hallway once again. However, when I opened the curtain, instead of a blinding blue light… _

_ It was like a continuation of the hallway, as the velvet steel walls continued into this room. In the middle of the room was a velvet chair, surrounded by a velvet table with a canvas on top of it, the painting obviously unfinished. I just had to just stand there and absorb the… honestly boring room. Other than the strange choice for a consistent color pallet, it was completely uninteresting. However, a familiar voice echoed through the room. _

**???:** “Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is  **Nagito** , the substitute caretaker of this place between mind and matter, conscious and the unconscious.”

_ Was that… my voice? _

  
_ Izuru gestured to another figure in the room. The main aspect of her was her velvet hoodie, which had a tiny yellow cat face on it. _

**Nagito:** “This is  **Chiaki** . She will assist you with your  **Persona Compendium** .”

**Hajime:** “Persona Compendium?”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Yes. The Persona Compendium is where we record and store all of the Personas that you, as a  **Wild Card** , absorb into your heart. This will be useful for when performing  **Persona Fusions** .”

**Hajime:** “Persona? Persona Fusions? Wild Card? WHAT DO THESE MEAN!?”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Relax, Hajime.”   
  
_ You know my name? _

**Nagito:** “Think of a Persona as a physical manifestation of a mask of sorts, not a literal one. We all wear masks while living in our daily lives. We need them when reacting to external stimuli, including stress, pleasure, all of that. That is why a Persona is summoned… and I see that it was Pan who responded to your call. Very interesting.”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Personas are categorized into various  **Arcana** , which could be strengthened by the bonds you make with others.”   
  
_ Bonds with others? _ _  
_ _  
_ _ I subconsciously raised my hand, partially out of fear, but also out of excitement. _

**Hajime:** “But outside of Nekomaru, I don’t really have any friends. So I don’t really have any other bonds to strengthen.”   
  
**Nagito:** “You know what you have to do. Go out. Interact with others. Use their hopes and desires as a way to strengthen your bonds with them. Use your bonds to fuse greater Personas. Use your Personas to transcend your physical limitations.”   
  
_ Somehow, deep in my mind… I understood everything in front of me as the truth. _

**Nagito:** “Now, while it’s regretful for me to say this… it’s time for you to go. I wish I could explain more of it to you… until we meet again, Hajime.”

_ A subtle white glow began to blur my vision. I reached my hand forward, almost in an attempt to cling onto this strange land… _

_ And back into real life. _

* * *

**[4.18.2010]**

**[After School]**

**???:** “Geez, for being another Persona User, the fucker sure loves to sleep.”

_ Persona User? So the people talking can also use those… ghost things. _   
  
**Mahiru:** “Leon, why are you being rude? He probably felt really drained after awakening to his Persona in such an unnatural way. Well it’s like your kind to be insensitive over matters such as this.”

**Leon:** “WHAT DO YOU MEAN “YOUR KIND”?!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “The kind of guy who tries to peek under women’s skirts or slap men’s asses.”   
  
**Leon:** “Oooooooooh… yeah fuck that. I’m getting Taka and Nekomaru.”

_ My buzzing ears heard a door slide open, along with footsteps walking away. _

**Mahiru:** “FINE THE-!”   
  
_ As my eyes began to refocus, I saw Mahiru, sitting down. I saw a brief flash of light, which made my head hurt once more. _

**Mahiru:** “OH I’M SORRY! I forgot to turn the flash off... “   
  
_ Setting the camera down, Mahiru gave me a light smile. _

**Mahiru:** “So Hajime, I feel like we should do a little celebration for you waking up. This is considering that you were unconscious for more than a week. Maybe I could set up a sort of-”   
  
**Hajime:** “I don’t need a party. I’m just glad to be alive.”

_ Looking around, I noticed that I was wearing a hospital gown, with bandages on my forehead. The room was barren, and a harsh white glow came from the lights above, making my skin look ten times lighter than what it is. The door to my room swung wide open. Taka, along with a redhead I’ve never seen before, entered the room with a sort of haste that almost made me feel like they cared. _

**Taka:** “HAJIME! You’re awake! Are you okay? Do you need water? Food? A hug?”   
  
**Leon:** “Will ya stop pestering him.”

_ Taka stepped back, a hurt expression formed on his face. The redhead, who I believe Mahiru called Leon, coughed before stepping forward. _

**Leon:** “Heya… Hajime? My name is Leon Kuwata. I’m one of your newer dormmates so... this is kinda awkward, being the first time that we meet.”   
  
**Hajime:** “I heard your name while I was waking up so…”   
  
_ I let out a small, mediocre chuckle in an attempt to show some form of confidence. _

**Hajime:** “Yeah. Oh, Taka! Can you please get me some water? I’d really appreciate it.”

**Taka:** “R-right away!”

_ The black haired boy slipped away, and Leon gave a small chuckle. I felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing Leon’s face go from a small, innocent smile to a dirty grin. The redhead clasped his hands together before looking directly at me, a weird feeling bubbling up in his eyes. _

**Leon:** “Sooooo… is he hot or what?”   
  


_ WHY’RE YOU ASKING ME THAT?! _

_ I heard Mahiru, who up until this point was silent, stand up. Walking over to Leon, she began to pull on one of his ear piercings gently, yet aggressively. _

**Mahiru:** “Can you not!”   
  
**Leon:** “YES MA’AM! I’M SORRY!!!”

_ The small whimper generated from Leon, along with Mahiru’s harsh yet gentle words, made me feel a bit warm. I barely know these people, yet I have this small, inescapable urge to get closer to them. When Taka returned with some water in hand, he immediately dropped the cup of water to berate the two for this “foolish behavior”. _

* * *

**[Late Night]**

_ Walking back into the dorm for the first time in ten days, I felt too tired to express my emotions. My legs felt weary as I lied down onto the red and brown sofa. Even though I was physically exhausted, my mind felt energetic, rapid thoughts entering my head left and right. Ever since leaving the hospital, three thoughts constantly ran through my head. _

_ Why does the Dark Hour exist? What’s the purpose of the Velvet Room? What on EARTH is Nagito’s deal? _

**Leon:** “Sup Hajime.”   
  
_ Oh yeah, Leon and Mahiru are here now… I haven’t really talked to Leon, so I’m kind of curious as to what kind of person he is other than being a pervert. He was laying down on the couch on the other end, an aggressive expression on his face. _

**Hajime:** “Yeah Leon?”   
  
**Leon:** “Well, considering that I haven’t talked to you at all, I wanted to just have a short conversation with ya.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Okay then… what do you want to talk about?”   
  
_ There was a profound, embarrassing silence following that question. Leon’s eyes widened in surprise. _

**Leon:** “Well… I don’t really have anything that came to my head when I asked that. Sorry… Oh yeah! What’s yer Persona like?”

  
  


_ What’s my Persona like??? What kind of question is that? _

**Hajime:** “What do you mean by that?”   
  
**Leon:** “Well, everyone’s Persona is different, and unique to them. Like mine,  **Montu** , who specializes in Zan and Physical attacks. Mahiru’s, which specializes in support and Agi skills. And Taka’s, who specializes in Aqua, Gry, and Physical skills.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Zan? Agi? What’re all of these names?”   
  
**Leon:** “Oh well, they’re these really stupid ass names that  **Yasuhiro** comes up with.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Yasu… y’know, the more you talk, the more I get confused.”   
  
**Leon:** “Yeah yeah, I get it. I felt the exact same way when I first came here, bro.”

_ Bro? But we barely know each other. _

_ Footsteps echoed from the staircase, as I turned my head to see Nekomaru heading towards us. Taka, Mahiru, and two other men tailing behind him, with one of the men bearing a striking resemblance to Taka, except more sickly looking. _ _  
  
_

**Nekomaru:** “Sorry for the wait, Leon.”   
  
**Leon:** “No problem. I was going to explain some stuff to him but now that yer here, I guess I’ll let ya take the stage.”   
  
_ Leon crossed his legs in a confident fashion, biting his lips in a confident smirk which made me want to scowl. Nekomaru sat next to him, his arms crossed and his face twisted into a firm, aggressive expression. Mahiru and one of the men I never met sat on the chairs across from each other. Finally, I noticed the other man sitting on the floor, his bizarre hair making him look like a brown bush on the carpet. _

**Bush Head:** “Hey.”

**Hajime:** “Where’s Taka.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Well, he said he felt ill so, after studying, he went to bed early as per my recommendation.”

**Mahiru** “So… what’re we going to explain first?”

**Ill Looking Man:** “I guess we’ll start with introductions?”   
  
_ The ill looking man had a cigarette in his mouth and an unsatisfied look on his face. He blew some smoke out of his mouth, before looking to a corner of the room with a sympathetic look that I couldn’t understand. _

**Ill Looking Man:** “My name is  **Takaaki Ishimaru** , Taka’s father. I’ll be looking after you all, along with my personal assistant Nekomaru Nidai. Though I’m sure you’re already very familiar with him, Hajime.”

**Bush Head:** “So… my name is Yasuhiro Hagakure. I’ll be your  **Navigator** when you explore during the Dark Hour.”

**Hajime:** “So… why don’t we start with the Dark Hour then? That would be a great starting point, right?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “You want to know why it exists? Well, we don’t know but-”   
  
**Leon:** “But we do know something else bout it.”   
  
_ The redhead girl gave a glare towards the younger man, she looked like she was going to flick something at him. But when he turned around, he just gave a heavy sigh in response. _

**Leon:** “WHAT DID I DO!”   
  
_ A low, raspy cough echoed in the room. _

**Takaaki:** “Anyways. What we do know about the Dark Hour is not related to its origins, but instead related to something that only happens during the Dark Hour. That being the  **Mono Tower** .”

**Hajime:** “The Mono Tower?”

**Nekomaru:** “The Mono Tower is what Hope’s Peak Academy turns into during the Dark Hour. We have no clue as to why it does, but we are aware that its where those monsters you encountered, which we call Shadows, originate from.”   
  
_ Giving a loud snort, Nekomaru clasped his hands, waking up a half asleep Yasuhiro. _

**Nekomaru:** “Now normally, Shadows don’t exit the Mono Tower. However, there are… exceptions. You see, there are these six pillars of light which emanate from the Mono Tower. They all turn on at random. But we’ve theorized that three days after those lights appear, one of those bigger Shadows appear at random points in the city.”   
  
_ Leon and Mahiru both perked up. I don’t think they were told this before if this was their reaction to that news. Leon’s eyes grew wide with surprise, which resulted in Nekomaru putting his massive hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder. _

**Nekomaru:** “Luckily, there’s only been two of these Shadows so far. One, which Taka and Yasuhiro encountered two months ago. And then the one you and Taka encountered more than a week ago. Overall, the whole situation is like a bad shit that nobody wants.”   
  
**Yasuhiro:** “Is there something like a time frame as to how often the lights come on? Like how aliens come once every year?”

_ Maybe you could’ve phrased that differently. _

**Mahiru:** “Not that we’re aware of.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Overall, besides what we’ve told you, we don’t know anything. Sorry,”   
  
**Leon:** “Well ya tried at least.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Okay, now that we’ve covered that, there’s something else that I want to ask you all. It’s kind of related, but not really.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Go on ahead, we won’t stop you.”   
  
**Leon:** “Go on bro. Ask away.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Well do you recognize something called the Vel-”   
  
_ A spike of pure, concentrated suffering and pain began bouncing in my head. I had to shut my mouth just so I wouldn’t scream out in a fury. Instead, I just whimpered. _ _  
_ _  
_ **Yasuhiro:** “D-dude… are you alright?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Y-yeah. Forget it.”

**Nekomaru:** “OH! THERE’S SOMETHING THAT WE FORGOT TO TELL YOU!”

_ Oh? _ _  
_ _  
_ **Takaaki:** “Oh yeah. If I recall, my son said that on the night you summoned your Persona, you did it without an Evoker. Don’t do that, please. For your own health and safety.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Evoker?”

_ Leon pulled out a gun, which was similar to the one Taka had, except it had some baseball and guitar stickers placed upon it. _ _  
_ _  
_ **Leon:** “This is an Evoker. It allows people like us to safely summon a Persona without… health risks. Personas are summoned via external stimuli, such as stress. So the appearance of the Evoker will trick your mind into thinking that you’re holding a real gun at yer head so… boom. Persona.”   
  
_ Interesting. I remember hearing about that from Nagito, so that means I can trust his word. At least on that. _

**Takaaki:** “So, any more questions, Hajime?”   
  
**Hajime:** “N-no. None over here.”

**Mahiru:** “Alright. So… why don’t we all go to bed? Tomorrow night, when the Dark Hour happens, we’ll start exploring the Mono Tower, alright? But for now, study, sleep, and commit to school.”   
  
_ Alright. _ __  
_  
_ __ Tomorrow, I, along with everyone else here, will begin our ascent to find out the secrets of the Dark Hour. Tomorrow, we’ll try to solve this mystery.


	2. A Single Truth (Within) The Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I feel like something might be a bit confusing for some people. But essentially here, Personas work like they do in P1, P2IS, and P2EP in terms of stuff like abilities and all that.

**CHAPTER 2: A SINGLE TRUTH (WITHIN) THE LIE**

**[4.19.2010]**

**[School]**

_ School seemed a lot more interesting to me for some reason. I feel much more… motivated in my educational pursuits. Tonight was the first day we’d be exploring the Mono Tower, so I figure that must’ve made me antsy or something. _

**Mr. Ichino:** “So class, I want you to get out your textbooks and flip to page 25. Today we’re going to be talking about…”   
  
_ Despite my motivation, my mind was also gathering thoughts on what the Mono Tower looked like. What was the floor layout like for each floor? How do Shadows interact with the Mono Tower? _ _  
  
_

**Grungy Voice:** “Psst. Hajime. Heeeeeelp!”

_ I darted my eyes to my right, staring at the shark toothed engineering wonder,  _ **_Souda Kazuichi_ ** _. His whispering made me feel suspicious, so I responded with the same volume _

**Hajime:** “What do you want?”   
  
**Souda:** “Can you help me with thiiiis?”

**Hajime:** “Of course not. I wasn’t here for those days… you’re going to have to do your late work on your own.”   
  
**Souda:** “B-but we’re bros, right?”

**Hajime:** “I barely know you!”   
  
_ Mr. Ishino gave a deep, lusty cough which pulled my direction away from Souda. _

**Mr. Ichino:** “Hajime, pay attention. You were absent for ten days, so I expect you to pay attention.”

_ Thanks a lot Souda. _

**Souda:** “Can we at least hang out today or something?”

**Hajime:** “What about tomorrow? Now pay attention to class instead of talking to me.”   
  
**Souda:** “I’ll take that as a deal then!”

* * *

**[After School]**

**Nekomaru:** “ALRIGHT YOU TWO, START DOING PUSH UPS OR ELSE I’LL FORCE YOU TO RUN ACROSS THE ISLAND AND BACK!”

**Leon:** “Yer cruel, Nekomaru… doing 300 push-ups is way too evil.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “START DOING YOUR PUSH UPS!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Alright…”   
  
_ The two of us began to work out, much to Leon’s irritation. While I, who was already used to Nekomaru’s standards for exercise, excelled at doing all of the exercises given to me. Leon… didn’t fare so well. I thought that the baseball team would be given a similar treatment, but I guess not due to Leon’s face, which was wet with tears by the time we began to do some of the more… advanced exercises on the block. _

_ By the time we finished, Leon rushed for a nearby water bottle and chugged it down like his very life depended on it. I felt pity for this man. He was on the baseball team after all, but I didn’t expect him to be so… physically exhausted after something like this. _

**Nekomaru:** “Leon… if you’re so physically weak, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO DO WELL AT BASEBALL?!”   
  


**Hajime:** “Nekomaru, maybe hold yourself back a little bit. I think he's emotionally exhausted”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “OH!”

_ Nekomaru slapped his own face in shame.  _

**Nekomaru:** “Sorry Leon…”   
  
**Leon:** “Nah nah, it’s fine Neko. I-I don’t mind.”

_ Leon turned to me, tears still streaming down his eyes. _

**Leon:** “Can we talk at night or something?”   
  
**Nekomary:** “Now remember, we’re going through the Mono Tower when the Dark Hour arrives, so don’t physically exhaust yourself.”

**Leon:** “Well I already feel physically exhausted after that workout you tortured me with.”

**Nekomaru:** “Oh don’t be like that.”

**Hajime:** “Hey Nekomaru… I think we should take him to the dormitory.”   
  
_ Nekomaru grumbled in disappointment, but nonetheless attempted to pull the redhead up onto his shoulders. Leon’s face grew beet red and he began to try, and fail, to escape the giant’s grasp. _

**Leon:** “H-HEY YOU MORON! LET ME GO, I’M NOT SOME CHILD!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Then maybe you can stop whining about exercising and stand on your own feet?”   
  
**Leon:** “...Fiiiiiiiiiiiine.”   
  
_ Letting go of the smaller boy, Leon brushed his legs. _

**Leon:** “Though… if you do want to hold me, I’ll be in my dorm room for that.”

**Hajime:** “Dude, Nekomaru is an adult… you know what, I’m not even going to question you anymore. You just do you.”   
  
**Leon:** “Yeah yeah… that’s fair.”

* * *

_ Walking into the dormitory, me, Nekomaru, and Leon were all met with scowels from Mahiru and Taka, who were sitting on one of the couches in the seating area. Yasuhiro was also there, praying at some sort of shrine that was hastily built nearby the bar. _

**Mahiru:** “There you guys are! We were waiting for you!”

**Taka:** “You’re two hours late for the debriefing! How dare you guys! Don’t you have a sense of time.”

**Hajime:** “Debriefing? We were going to have one of those.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Yeah dude. Though Takaaki won’t be here due to some stuff going on with him, he suggested that we hold one to clarify some stuff.”

**Leon:** “So what did your father want us to know?”   
  
**Taka:** “Well my father wanted to tell us that we’re only going to be exploring the first five floors of the Mono Tower. This is done since we don’t have enough people who can use Personas that can fight.”   
**  
** **Hajime:** “Wait, but I thought that if someone could traverse the Dark Hour, then they’ll be able to use a Persona.”   
  
**Taka:** “Well, my father hasn’t shown any signs of having the Potential. Yasuhiro’s Persona is not combat oriented, but instead oriented towards navigational purposes. And finally…”   
  
_ Taka looked to the side, at Nekomaru. _

**Taka:** “Nekomaru has… circumstances which make his Persona unreliable in battle.”

**Leon:** “...Such as?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “I don’t want to talk about it.”   
  
_ Nekomaru… what's wrong with your Persona? Can you… not control it like with what happened with Pan when I first summoned him? _

_ Why am I getting this… feeling of boredom right now? _

**[Late Night]**

* * *

_ There was an almost deafening silence that echoed out in the halls of the dormitory. Hell, the only sound I could hear was the subtle tapping of shoes and the fan in my room blasting me with cold air. _ _  
_ _  
_ _ I was reading a short book on tarot card meanings. Ever since I had that dream with Nagito in it, I felt an innate curiosity on the subject that I knew wasn’t originally there. _

_ So when someone began knocking on my door, I felt my hair spike up like a hedgehog. Opening the door, I saw Leon, who looked a bit disheveled. _

**Leon:** “I told ya I wanted to talk to ya so… here I am.”

_ Letting himself in, Leon sat down on my bed, crossing his legs. He has an anxious smile on his face. _

**Hajime:** “What do you want to talk about Leon?”   
  
**Leon:** “Would you like to listen to me play the guitar or something like that?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Oh? I didn’t really figure you to be one to play the guitar?”   
  
**Leon:** “WHAT! You mean my punk appearance didn’t give you that vibe?”   
  
_ Leon began biting his tongue piercing which… concerns me. _

**Leon:** “Well… I’m not going to lie. I wanted to ask you that because I want someone to be there while I practice the guitar. Someone who isn’t a part of the baseball team since… well the reason I want to do this is because I feel like baseball has been unfulfilling to me.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Okay?”   
  
**Leon:** “Mahiru definitely isn’t interested in that kind of stuff. And for Nekomaru and Taka, I don’t know how they would react so I didn’t know who to ask other than you.”

**Hajime:** “Alright then… I’ll do it.”   
  
**Leon:** “REALLY! THANK YOU!” **  
** **  
** _ Leon tackled me to the ground, rubbing his scratchy chin hair onto my face. I struggled to push him off of me as he squeezed me in a tight hug. _

**Taka:** “HEY GUYS, GET DOWN HERE! IT’S ALMOST TIME!”

**Leon:** “So… what'd ya say we have some fun in the Mono Tower.”

**Hajime:** “Alright.”

* * *

**[Dark Hour]**

_ The six of us were all outside of Hope’s Peak Academy, waiting in anticipation for the school to do whatever it does. Mahiru and Taka were giving small talk to each other, but nothing really meaningful, I felt sick looking at the depressed look on Mahiru’s face, she just looked like she was miserable here. Yasuhiro and Leon were talking about stuff like sports and conspiracy theories they found on random forums. Finally, as I turned my body around, I backed up as Nekomaru was directly behind me, a massive, cheerful grin on his face. _

**Nekomaru:** “So, how’s it going?”   
  
_ Wow. How awkward are you trying to make this? _ _  
  
_

**Hajime:** “Nekomaru, are you trying to do some small talk for me?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Yeah… yeah. Well I wanted to give you some good luck via my words so that things go right.”

**Hajime:** “Oh uh, well, thank you.”

_ Instantly, sounds began to emanate from the school. Turning around, I saw the school rising up into the sky, a mass of metal and dirt warping around it. Giant metallic bear faces began forming out of it as it barely misses the sky. The moon was barely visible as the massive tower stood before us. _

_ How the hell are we supposed to get to the top? _

**Taka:** “Alright, let’s go.”

  
**Leon:** “Yo… what the fuck!”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “We told you it transforms, did we not?”

**Leon:** “Y-yeah but-!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “How did you not see this from the dormitory?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Guys, let’s just go in.”   
  
_ Wait a minute… the way I said that, why did it sound so flat. _

_ Walking into the Mono Tower, I felt surprised. The interior felt warped, gears were strewn about everywhere, and giant bulbs of muck and mucus were splashing the floor from the ceiling. _

**Yasuhiro:** “So uh… did you all bring your weapons?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Of course we did, Hiro.”

_ I held a glaive in my hands. The light green handle was somewhat dirty, but it was the one which stood out to me the most when I looked through the weapon storage unit in the dormitory. Leon brought in a shiny, metallic bat, big enough that he had to carry it with both of his hands. It looked impractical for this situation, but Leon does know how to use a bat, so that judgement is up to him. Mahiru brought a two handed crossbow with her, along with an overabundance of arrows. And Taka… well he brought a katana. It was an interesting choice, but from what I learned of him being a traditional guy, it made sense. _

_ Yasuhiro aimed his Evoker at his head, and pulled the trigger. A bright light engulfed the room, as a giant gem surrounded his body, keeping him protected. I believed he called his Persona  _ **_Theia_ ** _. _

**Nekomaru:** “Alright you four, go on ahead. AND REMEMBER, ONLY FIVE FLOORS! We’re doing this as a tester.”

**Hajime, Mahiru, and Taka:** “Got it!!”   
  
**Leon:** “Yes sir.”

_ I looked up at the massive staircase leading to a golden door. _

_ And with that, we ascended the tower. _

_ The first floor was just as disorienting as the entrance. The massive hallways twist and contorted in unnatural ways, with the constant checkered pattern on the floor allowed for some consistency to this, but not much. Leon stopped at one point to look out at one of the windows, and that’s when my first encounter with a Shadow inside the Mono Tower. _

_ Three black hands began rushing at Mahiru, who began to shoot at them with her crossbow. One of them batted her away, making her stumble backwards. _

**Taka:** “ **JANUS** !”

_ A giant, muscular and metallic figure appeared once Taka used his Evoker. The two faces it had expressed different emotions. The front face displayed incredible confidence, while the back face displayed an immaculate sorrow to it. Two bursts of water gushed forth, knocking two of the Shadows away. The third shadow dissolved into goop by the arrows it was hit with. _

_ The two hands which were knocked back quickly got up and began to rush at Taka. The boy grabbed his katana and began to hack at the beasts with a professionalism that I’m sure only samurai from back in the day could have. Like the first hand, these ones also dissolved into goop after a short period of time. _

**Mahiru:** “Thanks Taka!”   
  
**Taka:** “No problem.”   
  
_ I felt a bit of warmth, as Taka had a tiny smile on his face as he looked at Leon. _

**Taka:** “Leon, were you paying attention?”   
  
**Leon:** “O-oh yeah. Yeah I was.”

_ And the smile instantly evaporated, instead a large scowl replaced it. _

**Taka:** “Of course you weren’t…”

_ Mahiru wiped away some sweat she had on her brows. But she stood back in surprise when an even bigger Shadow approached. This one looked like it was riding on a chariot, with a giant, green mask on its face. I approached the Shadow from behind, Evoker in hand. _

**Hajime:** “Pan!”   
  
_ Pulling the trigger, a flash of blue blocked my vision, before Pan, my Persona appeared. Rocks generated from his hands, before shooting out, hitting the Shadow in its eye sockets. It wasn’t enough to kill it, but it was enough to harm it. _

**Mahiru:** “ **Xochiquetzal** !”

_ When Mahiru pulled the trigger, just like with me and Taka, a bright light appeared. A woman stepped out of it, a giant, feathered hat placed on her head. A massive ball of fire flared up from the hat and rocketed towards the chariot Shadow. Engulfed in fire, the shadow went limp. Though it was still alive, it was weakened, and Leon noticed that. _

**Leon:** “Hajime, help me with this!

_ The two of us rushed at the beast, walloping it with our weapons. When it dissolved, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. And loud noise rang out in my head _

_ Well that sure is a weird feeling. _

_ I began walking forward towards Leon, who’d tripped during our rush to kill the shadow. _

**Hajime:** “Are you alright!”   
  
**Leon:** “Yep. Just tripped and fell on my ass… can ya help me up?”

_ Grabbing his hand, I hoisted him up as he waddled towards a nearby wall. _

**Leon:** “Welp, we need to move on. Just lounging about won’t do anything.”   
  
**Taka:** “Agreed.”   
  
_ We began walking through the towers halls once again. Oddly enough, when we reached the second and third floors, there were no shadows. I don’t know why, but that gave me a large amount of concern.  _

**Leon:** “Y’know Hajime.. I think Taka would want to talk to ya once again.”

**Hajime:** “Oh?”   
  
**Leon:** “Yeah, ya better talk to hot stuff over there once we finish this.”

**Hajime:** “Alright then… why do you call him hot stuff again?”   
  
**Leon:** “Ain’t it obvious… I like a man who can take charge, y’know.”   
  
_ Leon began to rub his beard, a slimy grin rising on his face. _

_ Goddamn it. _

_ Once we got to the fourth floor, a loud voice rang out in all our heads. _

**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “Yo dudes, I sense a strong Shadow up here. Be careful or else it might kidnap you and take you to some grimy place.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “WHAT!?”

**Leon:** “For fucks sake Yasuhiro… don’t be saying such things when we have a scaredy cat here.”   
  
**Hajime:** “And how on earth am I hearing your voice in my head.”   
  
**Taka:** “Well you see-”

**Yashirio (Mentally):** “It’s just the power my Persona has. Anyways, I just wanted to give you guys fair warning.”   
  
_ Taka crossed his arms, clearly irritated that he was interrupted. _ _  
_ _  
_ **Taka:** “Thank you Hiro. We’ll gladly take it into consideration.”   
  
_ The floor was a long, massive corridor, leading to a giant boxed room. There were masks, similar to the ones the Shadows weather, strewn about the walls of the room. The green lighting the rooms had on the other floors was replaced by a harsh red glow. I heard Leon tense up a bit, and even Taka looked a little concerned by this. _

**Leon:** “C’mon, let’s go.”

_ Stepping forward, we all felt hesitant. I felt like something was going to go wrong eventually at some point. The red glow seemed to grow harsher, and the tension was so palpable that I could’ve cut it with a knife. _

**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “By the way, are we sure this ain’t one of the bigger Shadows?”   
  
**Leon:** “BE QUIET!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “It’s because they only appear outside of the Mono Tower.”   
  
**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “Ahhh…”

**Taka:** “Am I the only one who hears that?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Hears what?”   
  
_ The ground began to rumble. _

_ And a massive glob of push and black ooze appeared. Red and yellow masks were plastered all over its body. A massive, gaping mouth was at the front, with large, human teeth. I tensed up, grabbing my glaive and Evoker. _

_ Oh shit. _

**Leon:** “MONTU!”   
  
_ A cloaked figure with a bird face came out of the now boring light of the Evoker. It raised its palms up into the air, generating a massive explosion of blue that suddenly popped onto the massive Shadow. The Persona rushed forth, drawing a scythe like staff and striking the Shadow, which made it draw a massive moan. _

**Hajime:** “Okay this is just weird!”

_ Pulling the trigger on my Evoker, I expected to summon Pan again. _

**Mahiru:** “What the!”

_ But instead, a sort of fairy appeared, and shot electricity from its fingers. The Shadow responded in kind. It grew dozens of hands out of one of the masks, slapping both Personas away, resulting in them vanishing into a glassy mist. _

_ I began hacking away at the hands with my glaive, removing them one by one. I found it disgusting but it is what it is. Mahiru began to shoot at it with her crossbow, and Taka began summoning Janus, who began firing black hole like beams from his hand. One of the shadow’s hands rushed towards the young student council president, punting him onto the wall, holding him there as loud cracking noises began to echo throughout the room. _

**Leon:** “TAKA!”   
  
_ The redhead rushed for the arm pinning Taka, batting away the gaping palms which tried to grab him. He began whacking the arm, making dents in the slop that held the arm together. _

**Mahiru:** “Oh goddamn it Leon. Hajime, keep the beast distracted with… whatever you just did with your Persona.”

**Hajime:** “Mahiru, why don’t you try to find a way to blind the Shadow.”

_ Alright, so it’s just me against this… thing. _

_ I held my glaive to my chest, and my Evoker held at my head. Pulling the trigger, Pan was summoned, and rocks were lobbed at the beast, drawing its attention away from the three other Persona Users. It loosened its grip on Taka, allowing him to get off the wall and back on his feet. Both him and Mahiru pulled the triggers on their Evokers, summoning their Personas at once. _

**Mahiru:** “AGI!”   
  
**Taka:** “Blind it.”

_ The two Personas blasted their powers together, creating a mist in the room. The Shadow began popping more hands out of those masks, flailing them about the room with reckless abandon, hoping to catch anything it could. For the final time, I pulled the trigger on my Evoker, summoning Pixie. A bolt of lightning shot out from her hands, zapping the Shadow. _

_ And with that, the room was suddenly devoid of sound. The silence was eerie and deafening… I couldn’t stand it. _

**Leon:** “Is everyone alright? I can’t see that well since this steam is so thick… Mahiru.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Taka also helped with it.”   
  
**Leon:** “Yeah, and?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “And Hajime was the one who asked me to do it!”   
  
_ When will you two stop arguing? _

**Taka:** “I… I don’t really think I can walk right.”

_ Looking at Taka, I saw his leg, all crooked and bent. _   
  
**Mahiru:** “OH! I can hopefully help with that.”   
  
_ Summoning Xochiquetzel, Mahiru gestured towards Taka’s leg. A bright green light flashed on Taka’s knees, before quickly disappearing, along with Xochiquetzel. Taka stood up, and while his leg was still damaged, at least he could walk. _ _  
_ _  
_ **Mahiru:** “Sorry Taka. My Persona’s healing capabilities aren’t that great… I wish they would get better but they probably won’t.”   
  
**Taka:** “I’m sure they will.”   
  
**Leon:** “You can grab onto my shoulders if ya need to.”   
  
**Taka:** “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine.”

_ Another sound rang out in my head. _

**Leon:** “So… how’d you do that with yer Persona?”

**Hajime:** “If I had a guess, I say that it has something to do with the Wild Card ability.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “The Wild Card ability? So you’re saying that you have an ability that none of us have? Interesting…”   
  
**Leon:** “The name sounds kinda stupid, not gonna lie.”

**Taka:** “Who cares if its stupid. The simple fact that someone could just change their Persona like that is INCREDIBLE news! Who knows what kind of advantages this could bring to the table.”

**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “Wild… what?”

**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “Yeah I’m confused on that part as well.

**Taka:** “NEVERMIND! We must explain this to my father as well!”

**Leon:** “Wait, Nekomaru can hear our thoughts? JUST LIKE HIRO!”

_ Leon stumbled backwards. I had to suppress the urge to laugh at his reaction. _   
  
**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “Yes Leon… and I heard everything… You’re doing 400 squats when you get back to the dorm.”   
  
**Leon:** “WHAT!”   
  
**Hajime & Mahiru: ** “NO COMPLAINING!”

**Leon:** “WHY CAN’T I COMPLAIN!”

**Hajime:** “That’ll just get you into more trouble… or have him cry. And you don’t want either of those options, trust me I know.”

**Taka:** “Anyways, we just got one floor left. Then we’re going to be heading back.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Uh Taka… not to be a Leon, but the way down from that will probably be… exhausting climbing down those stairs again.”   
  
**Leon:** “WHY IS EVERYONE PICKING ON ME!”   
  
**Taka:** “YEAH! Stop this bullying! It’s uncouth for students of Hope’s Peak to be doing that. Especially Seniors.”

**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “About your question Mahiru, I believe that there’ll be a device on the next floor which will allow you to teleport back to us.”

**Mahiru:** “Seems… convenient. How do you know that?”   
  
**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “Probably because of this portal device thingamajig that’s down here… but I could’ve sworn that this is where the aliens come fr-”   
  
**Leon:** “No time for your crackpot conspiracy theories.”   
  
**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “...Just go up to the fifth floor.”

**Taka:** “GOT IT!”

_ Once we found our way to the fifth floor staircase, we began our ascent. _

_ Once we finally got up to the fifth floor, we were greeted by a singular room. There was a golden machine to one corner of the room, and in place of the staircase… was a giant, metallic green door. _

**Taka:** “There’s a doorway blocking our path.”   
  
**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “I’m aware of that.”   
  
**Hajime:** “So what’s the deal with the door?”   
  
**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “Well.. with every one of those big Shadows that we defeat, there are these doors which unlock. Hell we couldn’t even get into the Mono Tower until the first one was defeated by Taka.”   
  
**Leon:** “Oh yeah… I’ve been wondering as to how you did that by yer lonesome, Taka.”   
  
_ Taka faced away from us. Clearly, whatever it was stirred something up inside of him. _

**Taka:** “Nevermind that! Let’s move on. Where’s that teleporter thingy that we need to touch?”   
  
**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “Should be that golden thing in the room.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Oh?”

_ When Mahiru touched the golden machine, she vanished from my vision, then Leon did the same. Finally, it was just me and Taka. _

**Taka:** “Can I ask you something?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Sure.”   
  
**Taka:** “So… on Sunday, once school ends… do you want to go to the movies with me and my dad?”

_ Huh? _

**Hajime:** “Why are you asking me this now, here of all places?”   
  
**Taka:** “I… honestly don’t know… will you accept my offer?   
  
**Hajime:** “Of course I would!”

**Taka:** “THANK YOU!”

_ Taka immediately rushed for the teleporter, and I swiftly followed him. _

* * *

**[4.20.2010]**

**[Early Morning]**

**Takaaki:** “So how was your first try at the Mono Tower?”   
  
**Hajime:** “It was… something.”

_ Takaaki was carrying a backpack around with him. Pills were clearly in the bag, as whenever his body moved, a rattling sound could be heard. _

**Leon:** “What’s in the bag, sir?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Well, while you six were at the Mono Tower, I was at two other places. The pharmacy and the reserve course for Hope’s Peak.”   
  
**Leon:** “Wait, Hope’s Peak has a reserve course???”

**Mahiru:** “DUH! I mean, while Hope’s Peak isn’t something like “Oh you need to be the best at your respective talent” or whatever, but you do have to be pretty talented to attend.”

**Yasuhiro:** “That sounds like a stupid idea…”   
  
**Taka:** “Dad, why did you need to go to the reserve course?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Well, I wanted to see if any kids could possibly have the  **Potential** .”

**Hajime:** “The Potential?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “The potential to wield a Persona.”

  
  


**Leon:** “Oooooohhhh.”

**Takaaki:** “And the first candidate that I found is this kid.”

_ Handing me a piece of paper, I saw the picture of a blonde boy with yellow eyes and a suit. _

**Takaaki:** “The name’s  **Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu** .”

_ WAIT WHAT!? _ _  
_ _  
_ **Taka & Mahiru: ** “KUZURYU!?”   
  


**Leon:** “Holy shit!”

**Yasuhiro:** “Kuzuwhat?”   
  
**Leon:** “YOU DON’T KNOW! Well… to explain, he’s a part of the yakuza. Family is a real rotten one… SO HOW IS HE ATTENDING THE RESERVE COURSE!?”

**Takaaki:** “Better ask his parents. Anyways, he’d undoubtedly be a tremendous asset to our group. Unfortunately, it’s going to take some time before we can get him on onto the main course, and the dormitory. Plus there are going to be risks bringing yakuza here.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “OF COURSE THERE ARE!”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Now remember, we’re going to get all the help we can get. So when he does come to the dormitory, we need to treat him like he’s a part of the team, alright.”   
  
**Taka:** “ALRIGHT DAD!”

**Takaaki:** “Thank you, son. Now, everyone get some sleep. You’ve stayed up for far too long.”   
  
_ And like that, everyone besides Takaaki and Leon dispersed to their rooms. When I reached my bedroom, I only took a couple of steps towards my bed before passing out. _

* * *

**[???]**

**Nagito:** “Hello again, Hajime.”

**Hajime:** “Oh, it’s you…”

**Nagito:** “Can you please come over here?”

_ Walking over to the larger room, I felt somewhat apathetic being here again. I don’t know why. Being in another reality should be interesting but… it seems dull to me right now. _

**Hajime:** “What do you want?”

**Nagito:** “Well I want to congratulate you for several things. First of all, you’ve found quite a few people who can act like… how do I put this?  **Social Links** . Specifically, The Magician, The Lovers, The Star, The Hierophant, The Fortune, and The Tower… though you’re already familiar with that last one, aren’t you?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Hiero… you mean Leon, Mahiru, Taka, Takaaki, Yasuhiro, and Nekomaru?”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Of course.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Not going to lie. I forgot that you were here.”

_ Chiaki, perhaps embarrassed by that comment, covered her face with her hoodie. _

**Nagito:** “I also want to congratulate you on obtaining more Personas. This will most certainly help you on your journey. Cait Sith and Pixie, while individually weak on their own, can be fused into something… better.”

**Hajime:** “What do you have in mind?”   
  
**Nagito:** “Well… I want to demonstrate fusion for you. Just so you get a grasp on the potential you can achieve. Chiaki.”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Pixie and Cait Sith can be fused into a Persona called Eros.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Eros? Interesting…*

**Chiaki:** “Now, let’s fuse~!”

**Nagito:** “Chiaki. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

**Chiaki:** “Sorry master.”

_ Suddenly, two cards appeared in my vision. The two cards collided, turning into one with a bright multicolored flash. The card spun, and a voice rang out in my head. _ _  
_ _  
_ **???:** “Heeeello darling, my name is Eros~! God of LOVE! Please use me however you want~!”

_ Okay, that was extremely weird.  _

**Nagito:** “As you can see, Personas have different personalities depending on the Arcana. This one is of the Lovers Arcana, as you can see.”

**Hajime:** “O...kay?”   
  
**Nagito:** “One last thing.”   
  
_ Nagito handed me a shining blue key, which glistened in the red light. _

**Nagito:** “Now, it’s time for you to wake up again. Hope we’ll meet again, Hajime.”

* * *

**[Morning]**

**Souda:** “Hey Hajimemes!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Don’t call me that.”   
  
**Souda:** “Fiiiiiine.”

**Hajime:** “So what did you want to talk to me about, Pop.”   
  
**Souda:** “Yeah yeah, “Souda haha, like Soda”, I’ve heard it many times… also, I wanted mainly to show you some of my engineering stuff.”   
  
**Hajime:** “So for bragging.”   
  
**Souda:** “Essentially.”   
  
_ For a split second, I had forgotten that I was in a mechanic shop. The floor was grimmy, and magazines littered the place. Picking one of them up, I was disgusted to feel a sticky substance on one of the pages featuring a bodybuilder, who honestly reminded me of Nekomaru. _

**Hajime:** “...Gross.”

**Souda:** “Hey! No touchies!”   
  
_ I dropped the filthy magazine, trying to erase it from my memory. Souda pulled out a robotic toy from a box. _

**Souda:** “Have you heard of a man named Nekomaru Nidai?”   
  
**Hajime:** “You know him as well?”   
  
**Souda:** “Oh so you do know him.”

**Hajime:** “Yeah. We dated back when he was in high school with me… before I move here.”

**Souda:** “Oh that’s cute~!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Oh stop.”   
  
**Souda:** “Well, the reason I mention him is because he’s my personal trainer. Helps me stay fit since I grew a bit of a stomach a while ago. And I decided to make this because I thought he’d like it.”   
  
_ Souda pressed a button, causing the robot to speak in Nekomaru’s voice. _

**Mechamaru:** “I GOT TO TAKE A SHI-”   
  
**Souda:** “Oh goddamn it…”

**Hajime:** “Wow Souda… I bet Nekomaru will really like it.”   
  
**Souda:** “YOU THINK SO!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Of course I do.”   
  
_ Souda began to cry tears of joy. _

**Souda:** “Thank you Hajimemes.”   
  
**Hajime:** “I told you not to call me that.”

**[Night]**

_ Returning to the dorm, I was immediately greeted by Taka, who bowed to me and said a simple “good morning” before returning to the dining room table to drink some tea. Leon was lying down on the couch, an American comic book was on his face. Even though I myself couldn’t really read it, I’m sure that Leon could. Finally I noticed Takaaki, who was watching some sort of anime on the TV, before swiftly turning the TV off once he saw my arrival. _

**Takaaki:** “You saw nothing.”

**Hajime:** “I didn’t see anything.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Good.”

**Leon:** “Yo, what’s up bro?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Bro eh?”

_ Leon took the comic book off of his face, and sat down. _

**Leon:** “Yep. So how was it hanging out with Shark Teeth?”   
  
**Taka:** “THAT’S A RUDE NAME TO CALL SOMEONE! I EXPECTED BETTER OF YOU LEON!”   
  
**Leon:** “WHAT DO YA MEAN, HE ALSO CALLS ME PIERCINGS, I ONLY SAY ITS FAIR!”

**Takaaki:** “Will you two ever not bicker like a married couple?”

**Taka:** “L-like a married-! DAD!”

_ I’m surprised that Leon stayed silent from that comment. Instead he just shrugged at it. _

**Takaaki:** “Oh shush Taka. Anyways, welcome back Hajime. I hope you like takoyaki.”   
  
**Hajime:** “You’re making stuff for us?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Yep.”   
  
**Leon:** “Taka did it, not Takaaki.”   
  
_ Looking over at the kitchen, you can see steam emanating from there. It reminded me of when we took out that one Shadow from last night. Mahiru came out of the kitchen, clearly she wasn’t handling the steam all that well. _

**Mahiru:** “Thank you Taka for making us this. It might not be a real dinner, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”   
  
**Taka:** “T-thanks!”   
  


**Hajime:** “So where’s Nekomaru and Yasuhiro?”   
  
_ Leon gave out a small chuckle, before looking at me with his trademark sly grin. At this point, I’m starting to get scared whenever he does it. It’s like watching a shark encroach upon unsuspecting prey. _

**Leon:** “They’re having a night to themselves, y’know. Like adults~!”   
  
_ Mahiru then proceeded to whack Leon in the head, causing the redhead to hiss in response. _

**Mahiru:** “Do you think of ANYTHING other than sex?”   
  
**Leon:** “OF COURSE I DO! IT’S UNREASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT ALL I THINK ABOUT IS THAT!”

**Mahiru:** “Well you haven’t proven otherwise.”   
  
  
**Takaaki:** “Now. Since we’ve explored all we can for the Mono Tower, we aren’t going to be heading over there for a while, understood? So you guys are essentially going to get an extra hour of sleep.”

**Taka:** “Well Leon sleeps all the time, so it wouldn’t be much of a change for him.”   
  
**Leon:** “Bu-!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Don’t make me text Nekomaru.”   
  
**Leon:** “Yes ma’am.”

**Hajime:** “Alright, we understand.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Also, Hajime, we’re going to need a leader for any and all excursions… and it is within my power that I appoint you for that position.”

**Taka:** “Wait father! Why him?”   
  
**Leon:** “I assume that it’s due to the Wild Card ability Hajime demonstrated to us on the fourth floor. Why’re ya asking this Taka? Ya jelly?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Who uses the word jelly like that.”   
  
**Taka:** “OF COURSE NOT LEON, THAT’S ABSURD! Why would I be jealous of Hajime? Especially since this is a wise decision on my father’s part. The tactical advantages of having the Wild Card being our leader is immen-”   
  
**Leon:** “Okay okay, I think we get it.”

**Takaaki:** “Now that we have all of that clarified, you can spend the rest of your time however you want.”

_ I sat down on the couch with Leon, trying to take a peek at what exactly the comic book was about. However, since it was in English, I couldn’t understand much of it beyond the basics. _

**Leon:** “Why’re ya trying to read this if ya don’t understand it?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Well, I just want to know what you’re into… bro.”   
  
_ Leon pointed at one of the panels. It featured a man with a massive red scarf and a battle axe, and a scantily clad woman with a gun and a bunch of burn marks. The two seemed to be fighting off a mass of insects. While a robot behind them gave a giant thumbs up. _

**Leon:** “Okay so with this panel, there’s this girl as you can see, she’s called Princess Sophia. She was caught in an explosion which tore up her clothes, gave her burn marks, melted her crown, all that comic book logic stuff. This guy right here, named Prince Mekha, is trying to defend her from these robotic insects which were made by this guy who wanted to kill the two, and he’s that robotic guy right there.”   
  
_ ……….What? _

**Hajime:** “What on earth does that mean?”   
  
**Leon:** “In conclusion; the guy wants to kill these two and sends these insect robots at them.”

**Hajime:** “How do you understand this stuff?”   
  
**Leon:** “Well my dad is from America, and as such he taught me stuff like reading and speaking English and all that stuff.”

**Hajime:** “Oh.”

**Leon:** “It’s not that special.”   
  
_ Taka slowly approached us, for some reason he looked like he was very scared about something. That fact alone makes me feel somewhat… concerned. He leaned into my ear in trepidation. _

**Taka:** “Remember the movie thing?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Yeah.”   
  
**Taka:** “Why don’t we do that today?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Okayyyyy?”

**Taka:** “So do you want to go now? I mean I’m fine if you don’t want to.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Sure.”  
  


_ I mean... I have nothing else to do so why not? _


	3. Take (Pride) In Regrets

**CHAPTER 3: TAKE (PRIDE) IN REGRETS**

**[Morning]**

_ Me, Taka, and Takaaki were heading towards the movie theater. My hands were sweaty since… well, Taka was a person I can’t imagine being really casual about stuff like this. And while Takaaki is a bit more easygoing, he does keep that gun with him, and on top of that he did have a hostile reaction when I saw him watching that anime so…  _

**Takaaki:** “So what kind of movies do you like, Hajime?”

**Hajime:** “I’m not really a movie kind of guy… or a TV kind of guy either… I usually don’t like to watch stuff.”   
  


**Takaaki:** “So this’ll be a new experience eh? Neat.”

**Hajime:** “I guess so.”   
  
**Taka:** “Well.. why don’t we watch Nightmare of Fake?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Nightmare of… what?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Alright then… I just got enough money for the tickets, not for anything else.”   
  
**Taka:** “Alright then.”   
  
_ When we entered the theater, I felt shocked. I didn’t know that Taka got so excited over such stuff, I thought he was super strict but… I guess not. _

_ The movie was about some guy who realized that the world around him was fake. The secondary protagonist, this guy who was helping him from another world, ended up being the main villain disguised as someone helpful. I was shocked that the story was as deep as it was for just two hours, you could really tell the creator poured their heart and soul into this. _

_ When we walked out of the theater, Taka was ecstatic. I felt disoriented as today was shattering my image of him.  _

**Taka:** “Dad that w-Oh, uh… thank you dad. I appreciate you taking me and my friend to the movies.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “No problem.”   
  
_...Friend? _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Oh right, that promise we made the first time I saw the Dark Hour. _

_ Why does that feel like it was so long ago? _

**Takaaki:** “So, what did you think of the movie?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Oh! Well.. I thought it was surprisingly complex. I also didn’t really expect the ending to be that… dark. Especially for a movie that Taka suggested.”

  
**Takaaki:** “Well he’s been going on about “expanding his horizons” and all that, so that’s the main reason why he wanted to go to the movies… that and he wanted to hang out with someone he considered to be his friend, since that would also be a new experience for him.”   
  
_ A new experience for him… so he didn’t really have any friends before this… situation, just like me. _

**Takaaki:** “Also, was it just me, or did you space out there for a second?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Well I don’t know so… maybe?”   
  
**Taka:** “We better not keep the others waiting, we must go to the car and return to the dormitory at ONCE!”

**Hajime:** “Alright Taka. Let’s go.”

* * *

**[Late Night]**

_ After the movie, I spent the rest of the day in my room, studying and trying to get in some reading. And before I knew it, it was almost twelve. I sighed in relief, stretching my arms as I nearly fell backwards while leaning against the chair. Lifting myself back up, I felt an odd level of determination. _

**[11:55]**

_ Yawning, I closed the book which I was reading, and I rubbed my eyes in a vain attempt to keep myself from getting tired. _

_ Geez, I really stayed up longer than I should’ve. _

_ Turning the chair, I went to the dresser to get myself changed. Putting on a massive shirt, which went down to my knees, and a fresh pair of underwear, I finally got under the bed covers and shut my eyes. _

_ I got only a few minutes of rest before I heard a familiar voice. _

**Chiaki:** “Hello again, Hajime.”

**Hajime:** “WHAT THE!”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Relax Hajime. I merely came here for the key.”   
  
_ I looked around, seeing the green sky from the window. It was without a doubt the Dark Hour. Looking even further beyond, I could see the Mono Tower, where a blinding light was coming out of it. Looking around my room, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, besides a massive blue door which replaced my closet. _

**Hajime:** “O-okay.”   
  


_ The blue key, which I kept in a cabinet next to my bed, was fairly easy to spot in the darkness of the Dark Hour. Pulling it out, I handed it to Chiaki, who put it inside of the keyhole on the blue door, allowing it to open. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Chiaki:** “This door shall be open for you and your teammates whenever you desire to enter the Velvet Room.”   
  
**Hajime:** “And my teammates?”   
  
**Chiaki:** “Yes. Your teammates also have the capacity for the Wild Card, even though theirs is less effective than yours. They, however, have yet to unlock their potential. However…”   
  
_ Chiaki looked towards the Mono Tower. _

**Chiaki:** “Their opportunity to do so will arrive shortly. Now sleep.  **Take your time** … and  **remember** .”

_ Take my time……… and remember? _

* * *

**[4.21.2010]**

**[Morning]**

**Leon:** “Hajime… Hajibro? HAJIBRO!?   
  
**Hajime:** “WHA-WHAT!”

_ Waking up, I felt horrified to see Leon in my bedroom. I didn’t invite him or anything so this was an utter shock to me. He was in between my legs like some pervy old man standing over a younger guy. And he just began to shake me like a madman. _

**Leon:** “GET UP! I’ve been trying to get ya up for minutes. Taka wanted me to get ya up since it's time for breakfast.”   
  
_ Oh…! _

_ Well shit, I need to go. _

_ Getting Leon off of me, I rose from my bed, scratching my head in annoyance. Getting dressed, I exited my room and stepped my way downstairs. I heard the shuttering of a camera as me, with Leon behind me, as Mahiru snapped a photo of the two of us. She had a massive smile on her face, waving her camera towards me. _

_   
_ **Mahiru:** “I don’t know why, but you’re really cute with that bedhead of yours… and Leon is alright when smiling too, I guess.”

**Leon:** “Yeah, don’t be a liar like that. I bet yer just laughing underneath that smile.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “No no, I’m being serious. You look alright when you smile.”   
  
**Leon:** “I know someone who looks better when smiling-”   
  
**Hajime:** “Taka?”   
  
**Leon:** “Ya got it!”

_ Leon made finger guns towards me, causing my face to feel a bit hot. Geez, maybe he does have a way with men? Or is it just because he’s such a goofball. _

**Taka:** “Maybe if you paid more attention to studying like you do with baseball, then maybe I would date you.”   
  
_ Woof. _

**Taka:** “And also if you stopped breaking laws… like jaywalking, then maybe I’ll even throw in a kiss.”   
  
**Leon:** “GOT IT!”

_ Taka brought out several plates from the kitchen, each one had some pancakes with powdered sugar and berries on the side. I felt my stomach rumble a bit just looking at them, with how elegantly they were placed together. I guess Taka is a perfectionist in this regard. _

**Nekomaru:** “PANCAKES!”   
  
_ Nekomaru came running down the stairs, which caused Taka to get an enraged look in his eyes. Yasuhiro followed suit, scratching his head like a massive force just smashed it in. _

**Yasuhiro:** “Yo, we’re having pancakes? Awww sweet! I remember when my mom made me some a while back, they were absolutely fantastic.”

_ We all gathered around the dining room table, minus Yasuhiro, who sat himself down at the bar. _

**Mahiru:** “Hey uh, where’s Takaaki?”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Well, Takaaki decided that he was going to… negotiate with some people.”   
  
**Leon:** “Nigotiate?”

**Yasuhiro:** “What’s that.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Yeah… I’m not allowed to say any details but that is what he’s doing.”

**Leon:** “Yeah yeah that’s interesting and all… but I’m hungggggggrry.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Same here… same here.”   
  
_ As I wept internally due to my hunger, we all began to eat. The pancakes were soft and definitely made with care and attention. But along with that, I felt Leon slowly tug my shirt. _

**Leon:** “Yoooo… Hajime, do you wanna hang out with me later today?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Uhhhhh… sure.”

**Leon:** “Alright, meet me at eleven, got it?”

**Hajime:** “Got it…”

_ Leon, what do you have planned? _

_ After breakfast, the two of us approached Kaine Mall. I felt a bit nervous, but also excited at what Leon had in store. _

**Leon:** “So… where do ya wanna go?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Well, you’re the one who suggested that we hang out so… I thought you had an idea.”   
  
**Leon:** “Oh I do. Just don’t want to make ya feel like ya had no input on this?”

**Hajime:** “Alright so… where do ya wanna go?”

**Leon:** “Well…”

_ He pulled out his phone. Unlike mine, which was a simple but sturdy flip phone, his was one of those smartphones, which made me feel kind of sad. He flipped through his phone, pressing a few buttons, before putting it back in his pocket. _

**Leon:** “Let’s go to the pier!”   
  
**Hajime:** “THE PIER?!?”

_ Leon grabbed my hand and began to dart through the city. I felt my vision beginning to blur. But eventually, after what felt like hours of running, he stopped. Looking at the pier, I saw the beautiful waters of the ocean, the blue color inviting me like some maniac. Alongside that, I saw three distinct figures on the pier. One of them was a slim boy, around my age, who wore all black clothing. The second figure was a school girl with a red jacket and way too short pants. The third and final figure, who was sitting across the ledge of the pier, obviously smoking something. He had spiky purple hair and an obvious goatee. _

**Goatee Man:** “Welcome new one… welcome to the Secret Society of… Secrets?”   
  
**Plain Looking Girl:** “Wow. That sure was a boring joke.”

**Leon:** “Okay so, let me introduce ya, Hajime. That girl over there, the one who looks like all the guys would stare at; her name is Aoi. Then there’s the guy who’s smoking, who calls himself “KAITO, LUMINARY OF THE STARS”. And finally that’s his boyfriend Shuichi.”   
  
**Kaito, Luminary of the Stars:** “One, just call me Kaito. Two, HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND, I AM NOT GAY.”   
  
**Leon & Aoi: ** “Yeah, sure.”

**Shuichi:** “Anyways, h-hello Hajime.”   
  
**Hajime:** “What a ragtag group of people… how the hell did you get together?”

**Kaito:** “Ah well, you see-”   
  
**Aoi:** “Well Kaito mistook Leon for Shuichi purely because they have vaguely similar voices around, like, a year ago. He then bought lunch for Leon since he felt bad and… well now we’re here.”

**Hajime:** “Also is he even allowed to smoke? Like, by law?”   
  
**Suichi:** “Yeah, but I’d prefer him not to.”   
  
**Aoi:** “Because you’re worried about him~?”   
  
**Kaito:** “OI!”

**Leon:** “Now then… why don’t Kaito do something to entertain our guest?”   
  
**Kaito:** “LIKE WHAT!?”   
  
**Leon:** “I DON’T KNOW!”

_ Geez Leon, maybe think of something to do before you pull me into your friend group. _

**Aoi:** “If I recall correctly, Leon said something about you being a transfer here due to some circumstances he didn’t want to divulge. So… what was life back before you came here?”

**Hajime:** “Oh well…”   
  
_ Why am I finding it so hard to answer this? _

**Hajime:** “Well, it was quiet, relaxing compared to the city. It wasn’t that crowded and everyone knew each other like neighbors, even if you were from two opposite sides of the town. I didn’t have that many friends, except for two people. Nekomaru and…”   
  
_ Ah damn it, what was her name? Juzo? No no… _

**Hajime:** “Oh yeah! And Junko. We would just goof off and play games or exercise with each other or whatever. Eventually, I started dating Nekomaru, but since he and Junko were a year older, they graduated. Then I was… yeah I felt very lonely without them. But then the year after they graduated was the year an… accident happened. So now I’m here.”

**Aoi:** “Huh. Seems kinda boring.”   
  
**Hajime:** “EXCUSE ME!”

_ Boring… boring. Why do I hate that word so much? _

**Kaito:** “Did you feel nervous when coming to the big city though? I mean, I was in the same position as you, my dad moved me over to the city since he got a new job and all that… Y’know?”

**Hajime:** “Yeah, I get it.”   
  
_ For the rest of the day and the night, me, Leon, Aoi, Kaito and Shuichi just… talked. When I said goodbye to the three, I felt a bit sad. However, when we were walking back to the dorm room, Leon slammed his head onto the chest of someone… peculiar. _

_ He was heavily muscular, and wore a bull mask to boot, giving him an intimidating aura. _

**???:** “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

_ Grabbing Leon and pulling him up from the ground, the muscular man patted him off, before swiftly leaving the two of us to our own devices. _

_ What a… strange looking man. _

* * *

**[4.22.2010]**

**[Early Morning]**

_ Waking up, I felt nauseous. What did I do to make myself so sick? _

_ Stumbling out of my bed, I felt like crap… so like what Nekomaru always feels like. I did my daily stretches in an effort to keep my body from feeling stiff. When I walked out the door, I heard someone screaming out like a dying crow. _

**Yasuhiro:** “WHOAH, WHY IS HE COMING HERE TODAY!!!”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Because we finally got him to come to the dorms after some… haggling.”

**Mahiru:** “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU HAD BOMBS!”

**Taka:** “Now now, let’s just be thankful that we were able to get him to come here at all.”

**Takaaki:** “I also called you all out of school, as a way to… greet him if you will.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “WAIT WHAT!!!”

_ Wait who are they talking abou- _

_ Oh wait, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. That one kid from the reserve course who was apparently a Persona User. The fact that Takaaki managed to get him of all people here in such a short period of time was impressive. So now… _

_ Where is he? _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was some hulking brute like Nekomaru. Someone to be feared. Someone to “not fuck with”, in Leon’s words. _

_ And with that, the doorbell rang out across the dormitory. I froze up in anticipation and fear when Mahiru went towards the door and opened it. Allowing for everyone to hold their breath as the light from outside shined into the room. _

**???:** “Hello everyone.”

_ And out stepped two figures. One was big and large, a giant bull mask on his face. Nekomaru, who was drinking something on one of the chairs in the living room, immediately looked up at him and snorted in disappointment. The other figure was a short, lithe looking kid. He wore a tailor made suit, and an eyepatch on one of his eyes. The other eye was clearly visible, allowing for us to see his yello- _

_ Yellow eyes… _

_ Taking a look at the bigger figure, I gawked. Realizing that the smaller kid was, in fact, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. _

  
  


**Taka:** “Welcome to the dormitory, Fuyuhiko.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “So this is the place?... Eh, I can’t help but feel pretty fucking disappointed. Gozu, what do you think?”

**Gozu:** “I personally think it’s quite pleasant. Once again, hello everyone.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Why are you being so polite! If it were Peko, she would’ve spoken out her mind!”   
  
**Gozu:** “I’m sorry sir.”

_ Fuyuhiko scoffed at Gozu in contempt, I couldn’t help but feel bad for Gozu. Nonetheless, Fuyuhiko went to the dining room, before dragging out a chair. Setting it down next to the living room table, he crossed his legs and gave off a small, playful smirk. Gozu, who came back into the building carrying seven boxes in his hand, began to ask Taka as to where Fuyuhiko’s room is. Taka, being the kind person he is, helped Gozu with some of the boxes, before leading the bull masked man to the second floor. _

**Mahiru:** “So… this is awkward.”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Y’know, I’d appreciate it if people stopped looking at me like I’m some sort of murderer. Really makes me pissed.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “WELL I’M SORRY THAT I DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING AROUND A YAKUZA!”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “ALRIGHT MAHIRU! CHILL OUT!”   
  
**Leon:** “He is a part of the team now, so it's better to be relaxed around him than to treat him like an alien.”   
  
**Yasuhiro:** “ALIEN? WHERE!?”   
  
**Mahiru & Leon: ** “SHUT UP!”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Wow. I already feel at home.”

**Takaaki:** “Anyways, why don’t you help Gozu and Taka with your room? And after that, I’ll discuss with you the details on your stay here.”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Sounds like a deal. At least that’ll keep me away from Bitchface over there, and Bush Head. I definitely don’t want to catch his brand of crazy.”

_ Fuyuhiko walked up the staircase, clearly in a bad mood. _

**Takaaki:** “YOUR ROOM IS THE FIRST DOOR TO THE LEFT!”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “THANKS… I guess.”

_ I could only plant my hand on my face as Mahiru, who was just as irritated as Fuyuhiko was, began to glare at everyone. _

**Hajime:** “Seriously, Mahiru, you need to chill out.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “...I appreciate the sentiment.”

_ Mahiru, just like Fuyuhiko, ran off to her dorm. Shortly afterwards, Gozu and Taka came downstairs, with Gozu holding his Evoker, which was much larger than the average Evoker to accommodate for the size of Gozu’s hands. _

**Gozu:** “Ah, so that’s your mission. I see why you brought Fuyuhiko here… but unfortunately I can’t take this if it's a real gun.”

**Taka:** “Oh no sir, this isn’t a real gun. It’s just modelled after a gun to trick the mind when summoning a Persona.”   
  
**Gozu:** “Why would one want to… oh. Oh.”

_ Gozu placed the Evoker in his pocket for safekeeping. But when he looked at us, he suddenly turned his head around. _

**Gozu:** “Where’s Fuyuhiko?”   
  


**Yasuhiro:** “I thought he went to his room.”   
  
**Leon:** “Oh no.”

**Taka:** “I’ll find him.”   
  
_ Oh god, this is going to be a disaster, I can tell. _

**Takaaki:** “You all can go. I’ll have a talk with him once we find him.”

**Gozu:** “Uh… Hajime, Leon. Can you help me with searching for him? I feel kind of guilty, thinking that Kiyotaka kid would be the only one looking.”   
  
**Leon:** “Alright, let’s go Hajime!”

* * *

_ The three of us began running around the city, trying to look for the blonde head. To be honest, with how packed the city was, it didn’t take long for the two of us to get lost in the sea of people. I found my way into a somehow empty parking lot, with Gozu and Leon running quickly behind me. _

_ Leon sat down on a trash can, his white coat getting a little grimmy from some sludge that was on the lid. _

**Gozu:** “L-let’s take a breather.”

**Leon:** “Y-yeah… that’s probably a good move right now.”   
  
_ My breath was raspy as I staggered towards Gozu, leaning on his muscles. He grabbed me as I began to slide down on his chest… to be honest, it reminded me of one time I stayed over at Nekomaru’s place, back in my hometown. We were goofing off over there and eventually it led to… _

_ NEVERMIND! I looked up at Gozu, his bull mask was blocking out the sun, which was shining high up in the sky. _

**Leon:** “Hey… Gozu… I got a question for you… well, three actually.”   
  
**Gozu:** “Oh? Share your questions… I’ll try to answer them to the best of my abilities.”   
  
_ While my breath was returning to me, I can tell that Gozu was still tuckered out. _

**Leon:** “First of all, how did you meet Fuyuhiko? Second of all, why wear that bull mask? And third of all… why did you try to reject your Evoker when you thought it was a gun?”   
  
**Gozu:** “I’ll answer your second question first, since that’s the easiest one to explain. Well, I wear this mask because of the feeling it gives me. THE GREAT GOZU!!!”

_ Oh he definitely has Nekomaru energy. _

**Gozu:** “For your third question. I believe that any firearms, no matter what the purpose, can only lead to pain and suffering for those innocent, and I can’t have that.”   
  
**Leon:** “Interesting thing for a hot man to say when he does work for a yakuza like a bodyguard. I’m sorry to say that, it’s just something I have to point out.”

**Gozu:** “It’s fine, I forgive you. Then there’s your first question…”   
  
_ Gozu sat on the ground, crossing his legs like a pretzel, _

**Gozu:** “Well… when I was young, I was taken in as a bodyguard for Fuyuhiko’s sister. She was smart, but also a huge pain in the butt… however, when I met Fuyuhiko myself, he saw something in me… and begged his parents to allow me to guard him. Fuyuhiko really has a kind heart, however he has a tendency to… try to keep a hard shell around himself. It’s that kinder, sweeter side that caused me to volunteer to be his guard. And it's also the reason why I continue to protect him.”   
  
_ That… makes sense actually. At least to me. _

**Hajime:** “You’re a kind man, Gozu.”   
  
**Gozu:** “You think so? Well, I don’t agree with you, but I appreciate the sentiment. I’ve done... horrible things that no “kind man” would do. Now…”   
  
_ Gozu got up from the ground again. For some reason, I thought that the bull mask was glaring at something for a split second. _

**Gozu:** “Now that we have taken a break, let’s get back to searching.”   
  
**Leon:** “Your voice is so soft~!”

**Gozu:** “Now, I’ll continue to check the main areas of the city again. Leon, go back to the dormitory and inform Nekomaru that we have yet to find him. Hajime, are there any major areas that you can think of that someone could immediately hide in?”   
  
**Hajime:** “Kaine Mall?”

**Gozu:** “Alright, let’s get searching!”

* * *

_ Walking around Kaine Mall, I felt a bit miffed, thinking about what has transpired earlier. Fuyuhiko’s attitude wasn’t exactly ideal, but Mahiru was blowing things out of proportion. Kicking my feet around, I suddenly felt force on my chest, and then the feeling of my body knocking itself onto the floor.  _

_ Looking up, I saw a blue haired girl in a school uniform that I didn’t recognize. She was clutching her head like something split up there. That’s when I realized that I just knocked over some random girl on accident. _

**Hajime:** “Oh! I’m sorry I should’ve been paying attention.”   
  
**Blue Haired Girl:** “Oh no no no, there’s absolutely no reason to apologize. I’m sorry for not paying attention to where I was running.”   
  
_ She hoisted herself from the ground, dusting off her skirt. _

**Blue Haired Girl:** “Uh… have I seen you somewhere before?”   
  
**Hajime:** “I don’t think so?”

**Blue Haired Girl:** “Oh! Yeah you’re right, he doesn’t have olive green hair.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Uh who are you talking about.”   
  
**Blue Haired Girl:** “I’m talking about my ex.”   
  
_ Why are you telling me this??? _ _   
_ _   
_ **Blue Haired Girl:** “Anyways, were you upset at something? I mean you looked like you were furious, like when a friend of mine messed up while singing at a concert together that one time.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Uh, yeah… how could you tell?”   
  
**Blue Haired Girl:** “I’m used to reading facial expressions. I guess I just have a habit of psychoanalysing people. ANYWAYS here’s the number to my agency. Give them a call and they’ll give you some money as a sort of apology, since I am in a hurry. BYE!”   
  
_ And just as fast as she ran into me, she dashed off, some distant goal in mind. Flipping the card over, I saw a distinctive name written in pink cursive on the back. _

_ Sayaka Maizano. _

_ ….…Who? _

_ I was left perplexed as to what I was just a part of. But looking back at the card, I noticed one other thing that was written there. _

_ “Don’t listen to your head; listen to your heart.” _

_ That’s somewhat sound advice, I guess... not really. _

* * *

**[Night]**

_ I felt exhausted. After the encounter with Sayaka, the only feelings I could get out of me is confusion and irritation. Entering the dorm room, I groaned as the door swung wide open, revealing everyone but Fuyuhiko, Takaaki and Taka to either be in the living room or dining room. But my stomach began to growl at the distinctive smell of teriyaki beef wafting through the kitchen. _

**Nekomaru:** “So, you didn’t find him… drat.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Maybe he was abducted by aliens.”   
  
**Gozu:** “No Yasuhiro… now’s not the time for your crazy theories.”   
  
_ Gozu and Nekomaru were sipping on alcohol, which was interesting for Nekomaru. From what I knew of him, he never even touched alcohol, and he was one year short of being legally able to do so. However, the tone in Gozu’s voice made me turn to him, which made me realize something. _

_ His mask was off, revealing his face, beard, eyebags and all. He looked so tired, like someone knocked the wind out of him. _

**Gozu:** “You know, I’ve never felt this exhausted since boxing class back in high school.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “Tell me about it.”   
  
**Taka:** “HOW DARE YOU NEKOMARU! YOU’RE NOT 20 SO WHY ARE YOU DRINKING LIQUOR?!”   
  
_ Taka stormed downstairs, fury in his eyes. _

**Taka:** “I was watching everything thanks to the security monitor on the third floor, you know. You can’t keep stuff like that hidden from m-”   
  
_ Once he reached the bottom of the stairway, he got a dirty glance from Mahiru. _

**Taka:** “Oh right. I’ve forgotten that we haven’t found him yet…”

**Leon:** “Nah, yer fine. Why don’t ya come here and sit next to me?”   
  
**Taka:** “Will you be trying anything funny?”   
  
**Leon:** “Right now I’m not in the mood for such things so… nah.”

**Nekomaru:** “Hey Leon, Hajime, go get some chicken. Taka did make it you know.”

_ I went into the kitchen with Leon, grabbing some chicken and rice. My stomach was practically roaring like an engine as I sat down at the dining room table, right next to Yasuhiro, who leaned into my ear as I began to eat. _

**Yasuhiro:** “Yo man… where did you look?”   
  
**Hajime:** “I went to Kaine Mall like what Gozu told me to.”   
  
**Yasuhiro:** “Good job listening to your adults but… I really doubt that he was there at all.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Clearly.”   
  
_ The front door clicked, before opening. As I looked over there, I saw Takaaki walk out of the room, with Fuyuhiko close behind him. _

**Mahiru:** “Looks like the bastard is here.”

**Leon:** “Y’know, the old Mahiru would never say things like bastard. So I’m surprised that you’ve now decided to adopt such… what was it you called it that one time? “Man like” language?”

_ Before Mahiru could object, Fuyuhiko gave out a loud cough to catch people’s attention. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “I’m sorry for my absence everyone. I just had some… things that I needed to take care of.”

**Mahiru:** “Like what?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “None of your damn business.”   
  
_ Gozu gave out an annoyed sigh. _

**Gozu:** “Master, I don’t think you necessarily understand that right now, some people here don’t view you particularly well. Maybe you should be more open about stuff like-”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “I’m sorry to say this Gozu but I’m not going to respect some whore who keeps on trying to push herself into my personal business!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “WHORE?!”

**Takaaki:** “Alright that’s enough! If you two bicker any more I’ll have Nekomaru handle you both in whatever way he sees fit!”   
  


**Nekomaru:** “Maybe phrase that better…”

**Fuyuhiko:** “FINE THEN!”

_ Fuyuhiko stormed off up the staircase, before slamming the door to his dorm room.  _

**Yasuhiro:** “Mahiru, what’s gotten into you?”

**Mahiru:** “I’d like to keep that to myself.”

**Gozu:** “Even though it might be a problem for me to share this, I feel like I must for my master’s sake… he likely went to the nearby cemetery to pay respects to his father, who died in a car crash with another family.”

_ Oh. Oh god. _

_ A small whimper of guilt came out of Mahiru’s mouth as she looked to the side. She looked to the side as if she just killed someone’s dog and threw the body in a ditch. _

**Gozu:** “I’ll go get him. He’ll be coming with us for the Dark Hour exploration right?”

**Mahiru & Yasuhiro: ** “Wait we’ll be exploring the Dark Hours now, why?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Well me and Nekomaru reasoned that it would be best for Fuyuhiko to become antiquated with the Mono Tower, and the Dark Hour. Gozu will be staying behind with me, like a guard of sorts, just in case Shadows come over to this front. After all, tomorrow we can safely predict that one of those special Shadows will arrive here, so wouldn’t it be best for him to know what to expect?”   
  
**Gozu:** “And just so you know, if any of you let him get hurt, I will make sure your spine will never be found.”   
  
**Taka:** “YES SIR!”

* * *

**[Dark Hour]**

_ When the Dark Hour was upon us, I immediately went from my dorm to the living room, glaive and Evoker in hand. Stepping downstairs, I saw everyone else there, Fuyuhiko and Mahiru included. Mahiru was facing away from everyone, not willing to turn around. Fuyuhiko, on the other hand, was talking with Gozu and Takaaki, with… ninja stars in his hand??? _

**Hajime:** “That’s your weapon of choice Fuyuhiko? Interesting.”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Yeah. So what?”

**Hajime:** “Eh, just pointing out.”   
  
_ Suddenly, I felt… reinvigorated? I don’t quite know how to describe it. _

**Leon:** “Hey Mahiru, why’re you being so quiet?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Nothing really. I’m just contemplating some stuff.”

**Nekomaru:** “Anyways, let’s go people. We need to head to the Mono Tower quickly. After all, the Dark Hour is only an hour, after all.”   
  
**Gozu:** “Good luck, master.”

_ Fuyuhiko became flustered, looking at Gozu with a childish grin. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Thank you! Will do.’

**Taka:** “LET’S GO!”

_ Everyone charged out of the door, heading straight for where Hope’s Peak should be. There was one point where Leon tripped, but other than that, nothing happened on the way. We all just stayed quiet, minus the occasional grunt or cough. Once we reached the school, I saw that Hope’s Peak was already transformed into the Mono Tower. I heard a groan from behind my back, but with a newfound confidence, I stepped forward into the building. _

_ At the bottom of the tower, Fuyuhiko scoffed. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “This is the Dark Hour? Looks like a fucking joke.”   
  
**Yasuhiro:** “Please don’t say such things. You are aware of the dangers of the Shadows, right?”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Of course I do. But that doesn’t mean I won’t share my thoughts as to how this place looks.”

**Nekomaru:** “Did Gozu not give you your Evoker?”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Of course he did. I just have it right here.”

_ Fuyuhiko went fishing around the backpack I didn’t even realize that he brought. Pulling out his Evoker, Fuyuhiko leered. _

**Taka:** “Now what do we do now, I thought that the door to the sixth floor was blocking our way.”

**Nekomaru:** “Maybe it unlocked somehow? Anyways, I want you to touch the teleporter again.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “TELEPORTER???”

**Mahiru:** “Yeah… a teleporter.”

_ Mahiru immediately touched the teleporter, which resulted in Leon and Taka immediately following her. But before I could move to the teleporter, Fuyuhiko grabbed my arm. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Can I… rely on you to help me with this stuff? I mean, Mahiru doesn’t really like me and the two dweebs seem more busy with each other.”   
  
**Nekomaru:** “OF COURSE YOU CAN RELY ON HIM! As his former boyfriend, I of all people could attest to that.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “...Alright then.”

_ With an uncharacteristic nervousness, Fuyuhiko pressed his hand onto the teleporter, vanishing. Finally, I was alone with Nekomaru and Yasuhiro, who already summoned his Persona. _

**Nekomaru:** “Uh… hope you do well, H-Hajime.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Yeah, you too.”   
  
_ Fina;;y touching the teleporter, I was sent to the fifth floor. To my surprise, the golden door which blocked the sixth floor off from us was gone, allowing for everyone to travel further. _

**Leon:** “Huh… that’s weird. Why’d it open today and not when we came here last time?”   
  
**Taka:** “Perhaps the doors open whenever the Mono Tower’s lights appear? Who knows and who cares. Let’s just ascend.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “What are you two talking about?”   
  
**Hajime:** “What happened when we came here last time.”

**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “By the way, there’s a really strong Shadow up there. Be careful.”

**Mahiru** : “Alright, thanks for letting us know Hiro.”   
  
**Nekomaru (Mentally):** “GODDAMN IT I HAVE TO SHIIIIT!”   
  
**Yasuhiro (Mentally):** “JUST DO IT OUTSIDE OR SOMETHING!”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Why’re they talking about this on that mental channel thingamajig?”   
  
_ Leon just shrugged at the tiny boy in disappointment. And with that, the five of us began our ascent. _

_ When we reached the sixth floor, a spike of fear rose in me as a giant fireball flashed forward towards Leon, striking him in the chest and making him stumble backwards. Taka immediately grabbed Leon’s sleeve to pull him up as Mahiru summoned Xochiquetzal, who shot a blast of pitch black shadows at the direction the fireballs originated from. _

_ I took a good look at the massive Shadow. It looked like a skeleton, but with a bright, crimson red coloring to it and a bright cyan mask. It had a tongue dripping saliva from its chest, with another mouth on said tongue. A loud clicking noise was sounding out from its mouth as the fireballs struck its chest. Waving its arms, a barrage of icicles were shot out from these portals, striking Mahiru in the chest. _

**Hajime:** “EROS!”

_ Pulling the trigger, I summoned Eros, who shot a massive arrow at the Shadow’s mask. Which caused the Shadow to writhe in pain.  _

**Hajime:** “TAKA! Use a Persona to keep the Shadow in place. Fuyuhiko, throw ninja stars or something, just try to chip at it. Leon and Mahiru can heal each other or something, I don’t know.”

**Taka:** “ALRIGHT… OBARIYON!”

_ Taka summoned Obariyon, who lunged at the massive beast of a Shadow to keep it pinned. I heard Leon shout something like “Tarukaja”, along with a light blue glow surrounding my body. Fuyuhiko began to toss ninja stars at the monster as it shot fire and ice wildly at random, illogical directions. I charged at the Shadow with my glaive, hacking off one of its arms. Suddenly, sheets of paper began to surround me, and I just barely managed to avoid them closing in on me.. _

**Mahiru:** “FUYUHIKO DO SOMETHING!”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “I-!”

_ Fuyuhiko began to throw ninja stars at random, hitting the shadow in random spots. The Shadow sent a fireball at his way, making him leap out of the way. He looked like he was panicking about something.  _

_ And when he got up, he drew his Evoker, and fired it for the first time. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Fuyuhiko:** “ **LANCELOT!** ”

_ Firing his Evoker, Fuyuhiko was engulfed with a bright gold glow. Stepping out of it, Fuyuhiko was followed by a massive, golden knight with a black sword. The knight swung its sword at the Shadow, sending massive arcs of lightning at its face. _

**Hajime & Fuyuhiko: ** “PERSONA!”

_ Summoning Pan and Lancelot, our Personas attacked the Shadow with electricity and wind, knocking the thing to its knees. Leon got up, pulling the trigger to his Evoker, summoning Montu. The bird… thing began to pelt the shadow with more of those blue explosions.  _

_ And with that, the Shadow melted away. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “I’m sorry for being so… so absent minde-”

_ Fuyuhiko looked tired as he tripped, wobbling about like a drunkard. Leon propped the tiny boy on his shoulders, before having Fuyuhiko stand on his own. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Why’d you do that? I’m fine you know!!!”

**Leon:** “Yer clearly not fine… did something happen to ya?”   
  


**Fuyuhiko:** “I just feel a bit tired after summoning… that thing.”

_ Oh?... so like me when I summoned Pan.  _

_ Did Leon, Taka, and Mahiru feel a similar way to that? _

**Leon:** “Ah geez, well, I guess I’ll bring him back over to Nekomaru and Yasuhiro. I feel like it’s also time for me to go… I feel tuckered out.”   
  
**Taka:** “You literally just walked one flight of stairs.”   
  
**Leon:** “And I got hit by a fireball… yeah. And besides, I’m not as fit as you~!”

**Taka:** “Alright you flamboyant man… go take him back. Me, Hajime and Mahiru will continue on climbing the floors, alright?”

**Leon:** “Thanks!... y’know, sometimes I wonder if my Evoker could be a real gun.”   
  
_ Taka stepped forward at Leon, his eyes now having a concerned look. _

**Taka:** “Do you mean that?”

**Leon:** “U-uh no, I was just thinking out loud. C’mon Fuyuhiko.”   
  


_ Leon lifted Fuyuhiko from his legs, causing the blonde boy to screech in objection. Leon, who sighed in objection to Fuyuhiko’s abuse, decided to carry him downstairs. Mahiru summoned her Persona to use Dia on everyone who decided to stay to explore the tower. _

_ Travelling throughout the rest of the floors, we encountered numerous Shadows along the way. None of them were really as powerful as that one large Shadow that we fought with Fuyuhiko. Once we reached the fifteenth floor, I couldn’t help but groan as I saw yet another golden door blocking our way. _

**Hajime:** “For fu-why is there another door here???”

**Taka:** “Did you forget the explanation we gave you when the first door appeared?”

_ Taka was gasping for air, and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him. Mahiru coughed at the two of us, grabbing your attention. _

**Mahiru:** “Hey guys… I have a question for you two.”

**Taka:** “Go ahead. Ask away.”

_ Mahiru took a deep breath. _

**Mahiru:** “Have you ever felt like you’ve said something you’ve regret, because of past experiences?”   
  
_ Is this because of Fuyuhiko? _

**Taka:** “Of course I have. Nobody does.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Good, I’m just trying to check in with you guys.”

* * *

**[4.23.2010]**

**[School]**

**Mr.Sakakura:** “Alright class. Remember to turn in your homework today. I feel like you’ve all been neglecting your…”

_ I felt myself nodding off at the words that Mr.Sakakura was spouting out. I forgot to sleep at all last night, instead choosing to spend my time studying after hours of being in the Velvet Room. Leon was also there, groaning about how Fuyuhiko was muttering stuff like “Dad” and “Don’t leave” as he fell asleep in the redhead’s arms like a baby who just discovered his neglectful dad or something… _

_ Why do I make my own thoughts so damn awkward!!! _

**Mr.Sakakura:** “Hey Hajime. PAY ATTENTION!”

_ I couldn’t react in time as a stick of chalk was thrown directly at my forehead, striking me down like some unbeatable final boss who was defeated by the power of friendship. I heard Souda give a small chuckle, which resulted in me glaring harshly at him. He then turned away from me, making a pathetic whistling sound. I heard someone, presumably Mahiru, smacking their head on their desk. _

_ Goddamn it, this is bor- _

_ NO! _

_ And now it feels like I’m competing with my own thoughts, yay. _

* * *

**[After School]**

_ After cleaning the classroom per Mr.Sakakura’s demand, I swept the sweat off of my brows. Opening the door as the last person in the classroom, I felt shocked as I saw a familiar face that I never expected to be there. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Hey bastard.”

**Hajime:** “HHOAWH!”

_ I fell backwards as the tiny Fuyuhiko grabbed my tie, slinging it around so that I didn’t make a loud thud on the floor. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “What was that fucking reaction for?”

_ Hearing someone walking down the class halls, I looked and saw Leon dashing down the halls. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Leon:** “Takaaki wanted me to get you… Oh yeah, Fuyuhiko is in the main course now. Sorry I forgot to tell you…”   
  
**Hajime:** “There’s no reason to apologize Leon!”   
  


**Leon:** “Hmm?”

**Hajime:** “Hmm what?”

**Leon:** “I don’t know why… but it feels like you’ve been more expressive lately.”

**Fuyuhiko & Hajime: ** “HUH?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Leon, I like you more than someone like… her. But I think that’s ret-”   
  
**Hajime:** “Annnnyways…”

_ I wandered towards Leon, before giving his shoulder a tiny nudge. _

**Hajime:** “Come on guys. Let’s go.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Helllllllllooo guys~~! Welcommmmme to the dorm~~!”

_ Yasuhiro was spinning around in circles while Takaaki was sitting in the living room, his face grimacing as streamers and other party related assortments were strewn about the living room. _

**Takaaki:** “This is what happens when you give the man too much alcohol, Gozu.”

**Gozu:** “I’m sorry, Mr.Ishimaru.”

**Takaaki:** “Please don’t call me that… just because I’m a police officer doesn’t mean that I prefer to be called “Mr.Ishimaru” by anyone outside of work.”

**Gozu:** “Sorry Mr.Ishimaru.”

**Takaaki:** “God damnit.”

_ Mahiru and Taka were visible thanks to the glass wall separating the dining room from the living room, seemingly talking about… something. Mahiru turned around in what seemed to be excitement, only to look back at Taka once she saw Fuyuhiko. _

**Nekomaru:** “HAJIME, LEON!”

_ Nekomaru grabbed the two of us in a massive hug, causing me to urk in pain as his muscles were smashed up against me. I tried desperately to escape him, but he just tightened his squeeze. _

**Nekomaru:** “So… did you two do your exercises?”

_ He shot the both of us a dirty glare. I was barely capable of speaking, but I managed to let out a measly “Yes…” from my mouth. Leon, however, decided to remain silent in an admission of guilt. _

**Nekomaru:** “I knew it… so what’s with the party stuff?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Oh that’s Hiro being… Hiro. Anyways, I wanted to call you all here to tell you that you better get prepared for the Dark Hour this time around. After all, we’re going to be expecting one of those big Shadows to arrive. So be prepared and don’t die, everyone.”

**Taka:** “Father… don’t say such things as “don’t die”...”

**Takaaki:** “Oh relax son.”

**Mahiru:** “Thanks for the warning…”

_ Fuyuhiko started to walk towards Mahiru for whatever reason, however she just stood up from her chair and walked away. Fuyuhiko’s arms shook his arms like some repressed anger was just going to break out and maul the closest person nearby. _

**Leon:** “Fuyu?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Don’t call me that... “

_ Fuyuhiko sat down on a stool in the bar of the dining room. He grabbed a bottle of… something, and just began chugging at it. _

**Taka:** “HEY NO DRINKI-Is that fruit punch?”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Obviously.”

_ I wanted to just lay down and die with all the stress the past two days have put me through. Laying down on the couch next to Takaaki, I put my head on his leg and screamed silently at myself. _

_ How is everyone going to function during the Dark Hour?  _

_ Gozu tapped Fuyuhiko’s shoulder, before pulling him away from the bar and taking him up the stairs…  _

_ Why does Gozu treat Fuyuhiko like a kid? _

_ I couldn’t ponder for long though, as Takaaki started to shake his leg like a madlad to get my head off of it. _

_ Guess I’ll just wait for the Dark Hour to arrive. _

* * *

**[Dark Hour]**

_ Keeping in trend with all your Dark Hour visits, I was absolutely gobsmacked by how sudden it came. Popping my fingers, I saw Leon in my room, waiting for me next to the Velvet Room. _

**Hajime:** “You want to enter? You could’ve just done that anyways.”

**Leon:** “Yeah yeah yeah, I know.”

_ As the redhead entered the Velvet Room, I quickly followed him inside. _

_ The room, for some reason, looked… different. Instead of some massive metallic ship-like room with a hallway attached to it, it looked… bland. It was a singular room, a platform was there, where Nagito sat elegantly on a couch, with Chiaki nearby him. _

**Leon:** “So this is the Velvet Room, eh? I haven’t gotten a view of this place myself so… yeesh, this place is empty.”

**Nagito:** “Welcome to the Velvet Room, Leon Kuwata. I see you have many questions on your mind, and eventually I will answer them. However, I am curious as to why you two are here. Are you both not alarmed by the presence of a Shadow?”

**Leon:** “Nah, I just came here to fuse Montu and Slime away. I feel like they both have fulfilled their purposes in the Mono Tower so… ye.”

**Nagito:** “Ah, I see… well, give them to me. They shall both work quite nicely as Ares of the Tower Arcana.”

**Leon:** “Alright then, do it.”

_ Nagito enacted the fusion process once again, merging two cards into one. Giving the card to Leon, he gave a wide, sinister grin. _

**Nagito:** “Use it well. You’ll need to in quite a short bit.”

**Hajime:** “Eh, what do you mean by tha-?”

_ A loud rumble rang through the Velvet Room as Nagito began to laugh. _

**Chiaki:** “Go out and see for yourself.”

_ The two of us dashed out of the Velvet Room to see Shadows roaming inside of my room. The blackened hands with masks crawled across the room, trying to search for something… or someone. Spotting us, one of the hands lunged at me, its fingers writhing towards me. _

  
  


**Leon:** “ARES, ZAN-EI!”

_ When Leon fired his Evoker, a giant red and purple skinned warrior clad in white and gold armor appeared. With one powerful motion, the Shadow hand flew, it’s body in pieces. The other Shadow hand began to twist and convulse, before slamming me into the carpet. _

**Leon:** “GURR!”

_ A large, black bird figure appeared, shooting a blast of… purple, black and white balls at the Shadow hand. Getting up, I fired my Evoker, summoning Genbu. Genbu blasted the Shadow hand with several spears of ice, causing it to disipate. _

_ The two of us rushed out of my room, looking at Taka and Mahiru, who were using their weapons to keep the Shadows at bay. _

**Taka:** “JACK FROST!”

**Mahiru:** “BERITH!”

_ The two summoned Personas were used to blast away the shadows with ice, water and light blasts. Once the Shadows melted away, Taka turned directly towards us, fury in his eyes. _

**Taka:** “Go to the rooftop and help Fuyuhiko keep Nekomaru, Gozu and Takaaki safe. We’re going to get Yasuhiro.”

**Hajime:** “Okay.”

_ Not wasting another second, me and Leon dashed for the fourth floor. When we got there, Leon attempted to use his body, and his bat, as a battering ram. _

**Leon:** “Why isn’t this opening!”

**Hajime:** “Use the bat to break the door handle.”

_ Doing as told, Leon took his bat and slammed the door handle. _

**Leon:** “Why do you sound so bored with this already?”

**Hajime:** “Don’t mind that. Just go.”

_ Charging through the door, me and Leon gazed upon something irregular. The massive Shadow wasn’t a blob of black, but rather a bunch of polygons strewn about, forming a fish like being.  _

_ Fuyuhiko was on the floor. He was breathing. blood pelting out of his head. Nekomaru had a massive gash on his arm, with a piece of cloth from his jacket inside the Shadow’s mouth. Takaaki had a gun in his hand, his leg looked tattered and broken. And finally, Gozu, mask broken and hands on the ground, was crying in front of Fuyuhiko. _

**Gozu:** “M-master…”   
  
_ I fired my Evoker, summoning Ghoul from the blinding light that came out. Attempting to use Frei, I felt a bolt of… something running up my back as the Shadow looked at me. I fell on my face, trying to lift my body while some mystical force held me down. Leon tried to summon Lilim, but was knocked unconscious by the fish Shadow’s tail. _

**Gozu:** “I… I failed to protect you…”

**Hajime:** “G-GOZUU! Punch it, fire your Evoker, do SOMET-!”   
  
**Gozu:** “Yeah… you’re right. I should do something.”   
  
_ Gozu grabbed Fuyuhiko’s Evoker, his arms were shaking like a madman. He had a nervous smirk on his face as he finally pulled the trigger. _

**???:** “I AM THOU! THOU ART I! FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL, I HATH ARRIVED! I AM THE MINOTAUR, THE BEAST OF THE MAZE IN YOUR HEART, MY OTHER, FAKE SELF!!!”

_ The Minotaur lurched towards the large Shadow, twin battleaxe in hand. The thing began to hack wildly at the face of the Shadow. The Shadow knocked it away, only pushing Gozu to shoot Fuyuhiko’s Evoker in his head even further. Eventually, the Shadow’s face was no longer, just leaving the body. _

_ The body began to send bolts of lights out of its body and its tail flailed about, making the building crumble apart as the Shadow evaporated into dust. The roof was in shambles. The Dark Hour was almost at its end, and there would be no goddamn way to explain what happened here. _

_ Gozu began to pant like a mad dog, the look in his eyes was tragic and he looked like he did something absolutely heinous. _

**Guz:** “I am… so sorry everyone. I was supposed to protect my master and I failed miserably…”

_ I was capable of getting up again, my paralysis fading away. Gozu picked up Fuyuhiko and began to carry him into the building.  _

**Takaaki:** “Well… that happened. There wasn’t much we could do but… that happened.”

_ That happened? Well… we defeated the Shadow but… Gozu’s face. _

_ I don’t… get a good feeling from this. _


	4. Aggression Between (Forgotten) Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it looks like these next few chapters are going to take a little longer to make now. I kinda intent for them to be somewhat longer than these past four chapters. Still doesn’t mean I won’t be updating them or anything.

**CHAPTER 4: AGGRESSION BETWEEN (FORGOTTEN) ISOLATION**

**[4.24.2010]**

**[After School]**

_ Forced to clean the classroom once more, I couldn’t help but look at the classroom clock. I was late for the hangout session… thing with Leon. Great. And I still had shit to pack. Great. _

_ In a panicked rush I began to just cram things into cabinets as I grabbed my backpack to rush out of the classroom. I merely took ten steps before I heard Mahiru’s voice. _

**Mahiru:** “Hey Hajime…”

**Hajime:** “M-Mahiru!”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Hey, can you talk to me later tonight. I feel like I need someone to talk to after what happened last night…”

**Hajime:** “Alright. I’ll do that.”

_ Mahiru clasped her hands together and formed a tiny smile on her face. She brought out her camera and waved the camera about.  _

**Mahiru:** “Well, see you later.”

* * *

**[Night]**

_ Looking outside of the dorm, I felt disappointed at the sight of it. Cranes and other construction equipment surrounded the building as I stepped inside. The living room was a mess. Burn marks and scratches lined the walls as I stepped on the chewed up carpet. Leon was looking at his phone, texting someone. His jacket was off, revealing several bandages that lined his neck and arms.  _

**Leon:** “Y’know this is what shit like Dia and Diarama is supposed to fix, right?”

**Mahiru:** “Yes I know. However you weren’t even close enough for it to work.”

**Leon:** “Yeah yeah yeah…”

_ Mahiru had decided to cook for tonight, since Taka had to go out somewhere with Takaaki. If I recall, it was to get medicine for future use during the Dark Hour. She was making naporitan, since that was really the only thing she knew how to cook. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Can you two not bicker? It’s making my fucking head hurt.”

_ Fuyuhiko was on the couch, stitches were on his head. He was lounging on the couch watching some sort of crime documentary. Yasuhiro was sitting right next to him, his eyes shining like a madman at the confusing case on the TV. _

_ There are two people unaccounted f- _

**Nekomaru:** “HAJIMEEEEEEEE!!!”

_ The burly brute lifted me from the ground by my chest. I gasped as he forced me into a tight hug, depriving me of my oxygen. I struggled as he continued to squeeze me in a heinous attempt to murder me. _

**Nekomaru:** “Awwww… how are you doing man?”

**Hajime:** “I-I-I NEED TO BREATHE!!!!”

**Nekomaru:** “OH! I’m sorry.” 

_ Letting me go, Nekomaru brushed me off and rubbed my hair until it practically started to conduct electricity. Fuyuhiko scoffed, earning him a swift glare from Mahiru. _

_ Finally, Mahiru took out several plates filled with that delicious naportian. I felt my stomach rumble as I sat down on a chair in the dining room and began to devour the noodles in front of me. Nekomaru, who I just abandoned for food, sighed at me before joining in on the feast. _

**Leon:** “Geez, now I wish Taka was here. I’d be all like-”

**Yasuhiro:** “So why did that guy have to do that to her skull?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “You dumbass… THEY EXPLAINED IT IN THE DOCUMENTARY!!!”

_ Leon grumbled something, however I didn’t particularly mind. Mahiru approached me and Nekomaru, several plates in her hand. _

**Mahiru:** “I’m glad you two enjoy my cooking… I’m not a professional chef or anything, but someday I want to rival Taka with my cooking skills!”

**Leon:** “HA! YOU’LL NEVER BEAT HIM IN SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”

**Mahiru:** “Just because you want him to get down on you doesn’t mean I can’t have dreams of something like that.”

_ Carrying the two plates in hand, she set them down in front of Leon and Yasuhiro. _

**Mahiru:** “Fuyuhiko, your plate is in the kitchen. I put in the meat you asked for so… yeah.”

_ Fuyuhiko groaned, before getting up from the couch. Once he came back from the kitchen, he shot a dirty glare at Mahiru, who just sighed.  _

_ Suddenly, as if he detected danger, Gozu stepped downstairs. He had his bull mask off, exposing his tired, irritated face. He went into the kitchen, grabbing some naportion, before swiftly returning to his room. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Now I just feel bad. Even if it wasn’t a real gun… Gozu didn’t want to resort to using an Evoker, even if it was to his detriment. That and the fact that I was incapasitated when people needed me most...”

**Leon:** “If you want Fuyu, I could keep an eye on him.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Thanks but I think it’d be much better if I was the one to watch him. I hope you understand.”

**Leon:** “Alright.”

_ There was knocking on the front door as Taka and Takaaki entered, carrying several bags of medicine and other assorted items. Taka looked like he was out of breath, which drew attention to several band-aids on his face. _

**Takaaki:** “We’re back! We had some issues getting back here, but overall we got here a lot quicker than I expected. So I’m sorry for that.”

**Taka:** “So Mahiru… how did the naportion go? I hope it turned out well.”

**Mahiru:** “I-I believe it turned out well.”

**Taka:** “GOOD! Now I’m starting to get hungry…”

_ After we all ate dinner, I felt a bit of satisfaction as my stomach felt full. I rubbed my abs and then stretched my arm to keep myself from getting tired. I looked at the clock. _

**[11:40]**

**Hajime:** “Hey guys, ten minutes until the Dark Hour arrives.”

**Yasuhiro & Leon: ** “Thanks bro!”

**Takaaki:** “I didn’t really have any plans to send you guys to the Mono Tower so… you all can relax today.”

**Hajime:** “Good to know. Mahiru, can you meet me on the third floor. If I recall, there’s a game room up there.”

**Mahiru:** “Ah… yes! I mean sure.”

_ The two of us walked up to the third floor. Opening two massive doors, I got to see the game room for the first time. There were lots of pinball and other arcade games scattered around the room. Pool tables were easily accessible and even a couple of dart boards were strewn about the room. I took a seat next to one of the arcade machines and Mahiru sat on one of the pool tables. _

**Hajime:** “So what do you want to tell me?”

**Mahiru:** “...I think I should apologize to Fuyuhiko.”

**Hajime:** “Oh! So well… what’s the problem then? I mean, you’ve settled on apologizing to him… also, why did you start to get aggressive with him? I mean, you just kinda-”

**Mahiru:** “My dad, as I am aware of, was killed by yakuza for reasons I still have left to figure out. And I remember hearing about how the Kuzuryu Clan was involved so… the dots just kind of connected in my head. But I’m getting this feeling in my head… this feeling that his clan had no involvement with my father’s death whatsoever. It’s just how I feel.”

_ She drew in a deep breath as she continued to talk. _

**Mahiru:** “As for why I can’t apologize… well I tried already, but he just brushes off what I say because of my previous interactions with him.”

**Hajime:** “Oh…”

**Mahiru:** “That’s all that I wanted to say. Thank you for listening, Hajime.”

**Hajime:** “Why did you pick me to talk to?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “I don’t know… you just seem to be really approachable.”

_ Oh… that’s a pretty lousy excuse. _

_ I looked up at the clock in anticipation. _

**[11:59]**

_ And with that, it turned… _

**[12:00]**

_ However, despite everything, the power didn’t go out. And that in itself was a sign that something was wrong. After all, that’s one of the main hallmarks of the Dark Hour. _

**Mahiru:** “W-what’s going on? Why isn’t the power going out?”

**Hajime:** “Why don’t we go downstairs to check on everyone?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “U-uh… alright.”

_ The two of us rushed downstairs , a tiny amount of dread slowly building with each step we took. We were both panicking. After all, if electricity didn’t go out during the Dark Hour anymore, then anything could’ve changed. We both got down to the first floor, seeing everyone else as shocked and confused as we were. Leon and Takaaki were missing, and the front door was wide open. _

**Taka:** “Wh-is the Dark Hour gone? I don’t-”

_ Leon came back from outside, he looked like something just smacked him in the face. _

**Takaaki:** “I don’t think it’s disappeared. After all, the sky is still green, which is another signature of the Dark Hour. But the fact that there are people walking outside who aren’t Persona Users should suggest it's missing… but then Leon was capable of summoning his Persona so… I don’t know.”

**Hajime:** “There’s people outside?”   
  
_ I slowly stepped my way outside, seeing a crowd of people walking by. If that’s the case then… what’s going on? _

**Yasuhiro:** “Well… this situation has gotten… weird.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “No shit.”

**Takaaki:** “Maybe you all should go sleep or something.”

_ As Takaaki said that, I realized just how tired I was. It felt like someone dropped a heavy weight on my back as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I felt dreary as I waddled up the stairs and went to my room. Walking to my bed, I didn’t even change out of my clothes as I passed out, _

**Chiaki:** “Wake up, Hajime.”

**Hajime:** “Huh?”   
  
_ Looking around, I saw that I was in the Velvet Room. Rising my head from the floor, I looked around as I rubbed my eyes in confusion. _

**Hajime:** “Wha-”

**???:** “It seems like you have witnessed a bizarre change in the world.”

_ Who’s voice is that? _

_ Looking at where Nagito should’ve been sitting, I saw a bizarre man sitting in his place, his enlarged nose twitched as his massive eyes blinked and a wide, creepy smile stretched out. Nagito and Chiaki were sitting besides the man, with Nagito now wearing a similar velvet outfit to Chiaki. The bizarre man stretched out his hand towards me. _

**???:** “Sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet Room. I’m sorry for not being here earlier, however a certain business of mine prevented me from arriving here.”   
  
**Hajime:** “Igor? Like the one from Frankenstein… anyways, what’s going on with the Dark Hour? Why is the sky green when it…”

_ I couldn’t continue my words, I just stayed silent as Igor lowered his gaze. _

**Igor:** “The world here is… wrong. There’s no other way to put it. Due to that, something has decided to take advantage of the imperfections this world had and seize the opportunity to… make some changes. This entity has merged the real world with the world of death, making the sea of unconsciousness unstable. I’ve already addressed this to your other Social Link, but for as long as you continue to explore the scattered parts of the Mono Tower, you may be capable of defeating this entity”

**Hajime:** “Split? What do you mean by that? And what’s this about a sea of unconsciousness?”

**Igor:** “That is something you’ll discover for yourself. Now, we will offer everything in our power to assist you and Social Links with anything needed, as usual. I do wish to give you one thing.”

_ And with that, a red purple ball appeared under my fingertips. I rubbed it, feeling the odd, sponge like surface. _

**Igor:** “Break that when it’s time. You’ll be the one to decide when that’s the case. Now then, I can’t wait to see what Social Links you chose to develop.”

**Hajime:** “Alright then. It’s time for me to go, now is it?”

_ Waking up in my bed, I felt annoyance at all of this. Igor clearly knows whats up… SO WHY WON’T HE TELL ME?! _

_ I looked out at the window. The sky was still that sickening green. I looked at the clock in my room. _

**[02:43]**

**Hajime:** “Damn it.”

_ I sat up on my bed, rubbing my eyes as I got out of my sheets. Looking back at the window, I felt… oddly relaxed by that familiar green sky. I walked up to the window, resting my arm on its frame.  _

_ The feeling of apathy bursted forth. What’s the point in trying to figure things out? _

_ And once again, I began to drift off to sleep. _

* * *

**[4.25.2010]**

**[After School]**

_ Looking at the entrance to the gym, I couldn’t keep my eyes from rolling, both in annoyance and in a bit of curiosity. One really shoddy sign was posted on the door, welcoming people to the Kendo Club in various languages. The apathy I felt from yesterday still lingered with me as I faked a tiny smile. Opening the door, I was met with the scream that originated from in front of me. _

**Hajime:** “Huh?”

_ Before I knew it, I got hit in the face by someone’s fist. I flew back out into the hallway, landing on my head. I had to to close my eyes in pain. _

**???:** “Oh shi-Hey uh… Mikan, can you help him with… whatever I did?”

**???:** “Oh god I’m so sorry I should’ve told him-”

**???:** “Mikan relax!”

**Mikan:** “I’m sorry Mondo!”

_ As I opened my eyes, I saw two people in front of me. One of them was a burly man with an… interesting looking pompadour. The other was a meek little girl, her hair was cut in uneven strands and bandages were all over her body. I rose up from the ground as the burly man grabbed my arm to help me up. _

**Mondo:** “I’m sorry. I thought ya were some piece of shit like Hifumi.”

**Hajime:** “Like who…?”

_ I heard the sound of shoes walking down the hallway. Mondo suddenly looked like someone suddenly forced peppers down his throat as I looked to see Taka walking down the hallway. His face was red with rage as he darted towards Mondo and Mikan with quite a bit of anger. _

**Mikan:** “Oh no…”

**Taka:** “MONDO! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HAJIME!?”

_ Mondo couldn’t even look at the man in the eyes. _

**Mondo:** “W-well you know about h-how I’m supposed to be here to k-keep watch of the kendo club members per your orders so… ahhhh… yeah I thought-t that this wet noodle was Hifumi sooo…”

**Taka:** “Next time, just pay more attention… I’m not giving you detention or anything like that since you did it with good intentions but… you’re going to have to help me later with something after practice.”

_ Taka then turned to me, his expression shifting from anger to a soft, wholesome expression. _

**Taka:** “As for you… I’m glad you decided to join the kendo club with me. It really helps having a friend participate with something I enjoy, just like with cooking.”   
  


**Mondo:** “Am I not a friend to you?”   
  
_ Taka just stood wordlessly at the question, resulting in Mondo lowering his head. Taka pat his head in a tiny gesture of goodwill, which made me feel a bit warm on the inside. Mikan, who just stood wordlessly for a while, began to blush somewhat. _

**Mikan:** “C-can I get a headpat too?”

**Taka:** “No.”

_ Mikan ended up whimpering at that, making the mood damper a bit. _

**Taka:** “Anyways! Hajime, don’t you want to… uh… head inside with me?”

**Hajime:** “Ah, sure.”

* * *

**[Night]**

**Leon:** “Sooooooo… when’re ya going to uphold yer promise with me, Hajime?”

**Hajime:** “Huh?”

_ My mouth was stuffed with sushi, with rice grains still on my face. Yasuhiro, who was in the living room, began laughing at me like a maniac for some reason. He seemed… high, which honestly makes sense. _

_ Mahiru was sitting next to Fuyuhiko, twiddling her thumbs. Nekomaru and Takaaki were just relaxing with each other on the couch, which was interesting, since I finally heard Takaaki’s laugh for the first time. Taka had decided to go out for the night at the gym just to work out, so unfortunately we didn’t have anyone reliable to keep people under raps. _

**Leon:** “I want to play the guitar, bro! And why don’t I play some for ya… maybe I can bring Taka with us~!”

**Mahiru:** “Your degeneracy knows no bounds.”

**Leon:** “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!?”

**Mahiru:** “Relax, I was just joking.”

**Leon:** “Geez… maybe make that more obvious!”

_ I let out a small chuckle out before covering my mouth to hide my grin. As this was occurring, Gozu decided to step down the stairs, his mask off and with eyebags. He looked tired, like someone hit him with a semi truck. _

_ He picked up some sushi, before trying to leave the floor. Fuyuhiko stopped him by grasping his suit sleeve. Gozu turned around and looked at Fuyuhiko in the eyes, which made Fuyuhiko grimace. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Can you at least come over and eat with us for today?”   
  
**Gozu:** “Wh-why?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Well, I mean you should be my bodyguard. I’d rather have you here than just wallowing in your room. Do you understand me?”   
  
**Gozu:** “I’m sorry Fuyuhiko… I’ll join you for today.”   
  
_ Gozu sat down next to Fuyuhiko, rubbing the smaller boy’s hair. Fuyuhiko began to yell in annoyance at this, swatting the muscular hands away in a futile attempt to keep the tiniest shred of dignity. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “I already look weak enough as is! You don’t need to treat me like this!”   
  
**Gozu:** “Too bad…”

_ Takaaki turned towards the bodyguard, a small chuckle escaping his lips. _

**Takaaki:** “You two remind me of me and my son… except that my son doesn’t try to bite my hand off whenever I mess with his head.”

**Mahiru:** “Oh yeah, I have a question Takaaki… are you sure about your theory from earlier? The one about how Personas can be used at any time now?”

**Takaaki:** “Well it’s not even a theory anymore… kind of. Once he got home, I asked Leon to attempt to summon a Persona once the sun fell, and he was capable of doing it. However, I also asked him to do the same thing earlier in the morning, when the sun was up… and he was unable to do it. So now, instead of it being involved in some sort of twenty five hour mess, we’re capable of summoning Personas whenever during nighttime…”

**Yasuhiro:** “But what happened to the Dark Hour?”

**Nekomaru:** “Well since it was absent from last night… I assume it vanished.”   
  
**Leon:** “Yeah yeah, we know. Igor or whatever his name was told us.”

**Yasuhiro & Gozu: ** “Igor?”

**Hajime:** “Wait do you not have access to the Velvet Room? Wait… that does explain why Yasuhiro hasn’t shown us the capability of changing his Persona…”

**Nekomaru:** “Are we sure they didn’t get any of his pot or something?”

**Takaaki:** “If any of you kids get anything like that I will show you why I carry a gun around.”

_ Wait he carries a gun ar- _

_ Actually… he is a cop so I really shouldn’t be surprised. _

**Takaaki:** “But the thing I’m more concerned for is my son… it’s eight and he still hasn’t gotten home.”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Me and Hajime can go get him if you want?”

**Takaaki:** “I’d appreciate that. And be timely please.”

**Mahiru:** “Alright Hajime... are you done eating?”   
  
**Hajime:** “I have been for quite a while now. Wanna go?”

_ Mahiru put her thumb up in the air. She then glanced over to Fuyuhiko. _

**Mahiru:** “Maybe you should come with u-”

**Fuyuhiko:** “I want to stay with Gozu. Besides, who’d want to go with you willingly.”

_ Mahiru muttered my name in response, but that fell on deaf ears as Fuyuhiko scoffed. Mahiru aggressively grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the building. As we walked down the streets, I started to get a nauseous feeling, like someone was filling my lungs with mucus and gasoline.  _

_  
_ _ Something is wrong. _

* * *

_ We finally reached the gym. Mahiru was exasperated from how long the walk was to and from, like it was several days when it really was only an hour or so. _

**Mahiru:** “H-how does he walk this far?”

**Hajime:** “I mean, we’ve walked for much longer in Tartarus.”

**Mahiru:** “Fair p-point.”

_ I reached for the door, and to my surprise, it was locked. Looking at the sign for the gym, I saw that it hasn’t been open all day. _

_ Did Taka lie? _

**Hajime:** “It hasn’t been open all day… due to health and safety concerns.”

**Mahiru:** “Wait but then… what was Taka doing…?”

_ We didn’t have time to ponder that question, as a giant boulder flung out from the alleyway, nearly striking me in the face. In a panic, I drew my Evoker. _

**Mahiru:** “Wait a minute WHAT!”

_ An explosion bloomed from the same alleyway, causing Mahiru to draw her Evoker as well. We both went down the alleyway, seeing a massive black ball rolled down the alleyway. _

_ It was a Shadow. _

**Taka:** “HAJIIME?! MAHIRU!”   
  
**Hajime:** “Taka?”

_ Taka pulled the trigger to his Evoker, summoning Onmoroki. A blast of wind blew in my direction, cutting my cheek. _

**Hajime:** “Uh… PAN!”

_ Summoning Pan, the Persona chucked a massive rock at the Shadow, causing it to pop like a balloon. _

_ That was a… really weak Shadow. _

**Taka:** “Is that all of them?”

**Mahiru:** “What the… I didn’t even get a chan-”

**Hajime:** “Wait, who’re you talking to?”

**Familiar Voice:** “To me… wait, do I know you?”

_ Walking out from the corner of my eye was that one girl I saw at the mall… Sayaka? _

**Sayaka:** “Anyways, we only just had the one when you guys came here, and it was significantly weak too so… sorry.”

**Mahiru:** “Wait… Taka, what’s going on here? We thought you were at the gym?”   
  
**Taka:** “Really? Thought you were already aware of this but I was sent to get her since she’s a Persona user, even if she can’t change her Persona.”

**Sayaka:** “I told you already, I refuse. My answer is not going to change.”

**Taka:** “I get that, but I was still telling them that. Besides, the offer is still on the table, and while you’ve proven yourself to me as being physically capable on your own…”

_ Taka bit his lip a bit in anxiety. It was weird to me, seeing him look anxious. _

**Taka:** “I’m not sure he would agree with that.”

_ He...? Like Takaaki? Or is he referring to someone else? _

**Sayaka:** “I’ve chosen my answer, and it will not change. I may help you all at some point later, but it will not be now.”

_ Sayaka pulled out an Evoker, which is strange for her to have unless Taka gave it to her. She summoned a massive golden haired man with a massive spear. The spearman threw his spear to the ground, causing a cloud of smoke to appear, obscuring our vision. _

**Mahiru:** “Show off.”

**Taka:** “Well it’s just something which she does. After all, her agency does encourage idols to be… flashy.”

**Hajime:** “Well… that was weird.”

**Taka:** “So why did you guys come?”

**Mahiru:** “Because we were worried about you? I mean, why else would we come find you… also, now that we've seen Shadows out here, we can safely assume that now nighttime in general will be when Shadows appear, and not just the Dark Hour.”

**Hajime:** “Clearly.”

_ The smoke finally cleared, allowing us to see perfectly again. _

**Mahiru:** “Now come on guys. Let’s go. We’re probably going to be scolded or something… worse… besides I need to say some things to Fuyuhiko.”

_ Mahiru shivered, before walking away, leaving the two of us alone. Taka began to walk away, but I grabbed the sleeve of his uniform. _

**Hajime:** “So uh… I have something I want to tell you… Oh! And something to ask you.”

**Taka:** “Go ahead.”

**Hajime:** “Well, Leon wants to play some music for me and… well, I remembered something he joked about and wanted to invite you to come with us… IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU!”

_ Taka blushed a bit, before looking at his side. _

**Taka:** “Yeah… yeah I’ll come to his… whatever it is. But only if he does his homework!”

**Hajime:** “Got it.”

**Taka:** “You also wanted to ask me something, right?”

**Hajime:** “Yeah, I wanted to ask you about something you just said… who was this “he” you were referring to?”

**Taka:** “Oh… well, much to my chagrin, I’m not really allowed to tell you. At least for now. But I do appreciate you asking.”

_ Taka gave me a small smile, before swiftly walking away. _

_ Well then… even though that question didn’t really get answered, I feel somewhat satisfi-. _

_ My head began to feel like it was splitting open, before returning to normal. The memory of that explosion came across my mind… along with something else. Something that I couldn’t grasp with my own mind, as it felt buried. I began walking forward groggily, sighing in apathy as I tend to do nowadays. _

_ Something is wrong with me. _

* * *

**[4.26.2010]**

**[Early Morning/Nekomaru]**

_ Walking into the kitchen, I felt quite relieved to see Hajime, Taka, and Leon talking to each other. Hajime, when I knew him, wasn’t a social person at all. There were really only three people he talked to, that being me, Junko, and  _ **_Yasuke Matsuda_ ** _ or whatever the fuck his name was. _

_ Looking over to the living room, I saw Mahiru was talking to Gozu. Gozu got a little better after last night, although he isn’t one hundred percent better… makes me feel sad seeing someone like him wallow in self doubt like that. _ _  
_ _  
_ **Takaaki:** “Nekomaru. Can you please come over here?”

**Nekomaru:** “Uh… YEAH!”

_ I swiftly walked towards Takaaki, not realizing my back was slowly starting to ache. Takaaki seemed to notice this, as he begun gesturing for me to sit down. _

**Takaaki:** “Is this because of-”

**Nekomaru:** “Nope. Probably just something else.”

**Takaaki:** “Alright. Just making sure.”

**Nekomaru:** “And I appreciate that… geez… I had a bad shit so maybe it’s related to that?”

_ C’mon, work… _

**Takaaki:** “Oh please, what a lame excuse. I sure as hell know Hajime wouldn’t fall for it.”   
  
_ I felt my face go red as I tried to distract myself from the numerous thoughts that went through my head. _

**Takaaki:** “I knew it. You do still have feelings for him! HA!”

**Nekomaru:** “Please shut up…”

**Takaaki:** “Speaking of Hajime. He wanted to ask you a few things. And he did seem somewhat… nervous I guess is the correct way to put it. Maybe he wants to ask you out again.”

_ But I’m… Oh wait, he’s 18 as wel-NONONONONO, I shouldn’t get attached to anyone like this. _

**Nekomaru:** “Do you do this kind of teasing with your son?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “N-not particularly.”

_ Geez. First you briefly remind me of… that thing and now this? You’re a menace. _

_ I barely kept a cough from emerging as I glanced over at the three in the dining room. They looked to be enjoying themselves somewhat… something that used to be the case with me and Hajime before… _

_ Before… _

_ Nevermind that. _

* * *

**[Morning/Nekomaru]**

_ Sitting in the gaming area, I was starting to get frustrated with the pinball machine in front of me. The ball never went where I wanted it!  _

_ I didn’t get to keep my focus on the pinball machine forever, however, as I heard the massive doors open. Turning around, I saw Hajime walk in. An innocent smile which I haven’t seen in what felt like centuries was on his face, making my heart melt. _

**Nekomaru:** “So you did get my message? Thought your phone was shit.”

**Hajime:** “Well I was going to talk to you anyways so… yeah.”

_ And here’s the big question. _

**Nekomaru:** “Soooo… what did you want to talk about?”

_ I held my breath as Hajime brushed his spiky hair around, his face becoming completely flat. _

**Hajime:** “I just want to reaffirm something… what exactly happened during the explosion?”

_ Wait… that’s your fucking question?! _

**Nekomaru:** “W-well, I’m sure you already know this. Some random guy decided to bomb a bunch of buildings, catching 4,013 people in the blast and killing 3,501 of them… why’re you asking me this? I mean, you were there, so you of all people should know what happened.” ****  
**  
** **Hajime:** “Well… I just wanted to have my memory reaffirmed. Thank you for entertaining my question.”

_ Hajime then bowed towards me, which felt weird considering how intimately I know him. He then turned around and left, a relieved look appearing on his face. That in turn made me feel relieved for him… so why am I getting this feeling like he’s hiding something from me. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Persona Arcana are, for the most part, the same that they are. However I am adding the Councilor, the Faith, and the Hunger into the mix for their own intended purposes. I’m also contemplating adding the Minor Arcana Personas, but I have a feeling that it may be too much.


	5. Finding (Something) New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do want to say that, even though buildings and the like are fictional, the setting for this story is based off of Tokyo. Now that I got that quick note out, enjoy!

**CHAPTER 5: FINDING (SOMETHING) NEW**

**[4.26.2010]**

**[Early Morning/Mahiru]**

_ Walking down the stairs, I felt a bit of hesitation in how I felt. Today was the day that I would apologize to Fuyuhiko… for assuming that he was somehow involved with my dad’s death. Walking down the stairs to the first floor, I saw Takaaki, sipping on some coffee with a stern look on his face. Turning to me, he kept his stern expression. _

**Takaaki:** “Oh, hey Mahiru! How’s it going?”

**Mahiru:** “AH! Ah, well I’m doing pretty well.”   
  
**Takaaki:** “What’s with the shocked reaction for? Everything alright?”   
  
**Mahiru:** “Well… I didn’t expect anyone to be up at this point of time.”

**Takaaki:** “Well Fuyuhiko is also up. He’s in the library on the third floor if you want to talk to him. After all, that was your intention for today, no?”

_ How did you-! _ _   
_ _   
_ **Mahiru:** “Yeah… yeah that’s correct.”

**Takaaki:** “I never really expected you to be the type to apologize. After all, with the reactions you gave to Fuyuhiko, I expected you to hate him forever.”

_ Oh wow… _

**Takaaki:** “Now get what you came down here to get and go talk to him. I was getting tired of your drama and was worried if I needed to intervene myself.”

**Mahiru:** “O-okay!”

_ Heading to the kitchen, I grabbed the box I prepared for Fuyuhiko and began to trudge my way back upstairs. I walked to the third floor, before opening the door to the library. I saw Fuyuhiko sitting down next to a large table, reading some massive blue book, _

**Fuyuhiko:** “What the fuck do you want?”

_ Wow. Already off to a great start. _

**Mahiru:** “Oh, well… I kind of wanted to say a few things to you.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Like what!”

**Mahiru:** “I’m-I’m sorry… I used personal experiences with your family to be a jerk to you.”   
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “And is that supposed to make me like you all of the sudden?”

**Mahiru:** “No. However, I did make something for you since I feel like that would at least cheer you up a little bit.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Oh, and what the fuck would that be?”

_ Placing the box on the table, I felt a smirk come over my face. _

**Mahiru:** “Karinto.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “KARINTO!?”

_ Fuyuhiko snatched the box and opened it with excitement. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Even though I might still not like you, I still appreciate this…”

**Mahiru:** “Eh, that’s good enough.”

* * *

**[Morning]**

**Leon:** “Geez, why are ya forcing me to exercise with ya Hajime!”

**Hajime:** “Well you did get Fuyuhiko to use Diarama to heal your wounds with… Arianrhod???”   
  
**Leon:** “Damn ya. Damn ya truly you bastard… and just when I started to feel good about myself when getting up?”   
  
**Hajime:** “A-are you okay? Seriously?”

**Leon:** “OF COURSE I AM! Geez… now I know what Souda feels.”

_ Souda? Oh right, he had that toy Nekomaru thing… I wonder if Nekomaru got it. _

**Leon:** “HEY IF YER GOING TO DRAG ME OUT TO EXERCISE THEN WHY DON’T YA DO IT WITH ME?!”

**Hajime:** “Oh… but you do baseball, isn’t that exercising?”   
  
**Leon:** “Hey don’t point out my hypocrisy. I’m just a natural bro, don’t judge me.”

_ Yeah yeah… sure. _

**Hajime:** “So… when are we going to play the music?”   
  
**Leon:** “When Taka decides to join us.”

**Hajime:** “So did you do your homework?”   
  
_ Leon paused, his face began to contort as he started sweating. _

**Leon:** “Uhhhh, can ya help me with my History homework???”   
  
**Hajime:** “...Fine. But after you at least do some push ups.”

**Leon:** “ALRIGHTY THANK YA!”

_ Leon began doing push ups like his life depended on it. It made me snicker a bit as he did this. After all, Leon constantly complained about exercising, yet when you give him a simple motivator like Taka he just shuts up and does it. Reminds me of the time I had with Junko and Nekomaru…  _

**Hajime:** “Alright get up. It’s starting to get depressing seeing you do seventy push ups at an instant like that.”

**Leon:** “Oh thank fuck!”

_ Leon rested his body on the floor, and that’s when I noticed that he kept his Evoker on his person. He was grasping it like some sort of stress ball, and his rings brushed the metal of the Evoker somewhat, making a tiny noise. Leon gave out a soft sigh, before turning to me. _

**Leon:** “Y’know about what Igor told us individually, about the whole “Scattered parts of the Mono Tower” or whatever bullshit that means… do ya think we’ll actually find out what that means? After all, we haven’t seen any abnormal buildings from what little we’ve explored of this “New Dark Hour”...”

**Hajime:** “Well I think so. After all, with the way he talked about it, it doesn’t seem like the tower just vanished entirely. More likely it split apart…”

**Leon:** “Eh… seems like shit just gets more confusing… and it hasn’t even been a month! WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK!”   
  
**Hajime:** “I’m just frustrated by all of this. I haven’t really put much thought on it, but I feel like I want the answers now so that things can go back to normal and I’m tired that some people are being so vague with me.”   
  
_ Yeah, that’s true… I am getting tired of people being vague. Now I just want people to be honest with me. Like Taka himself. _

**Leon:** “Hey do ya actually want to grab beef bowls or something. I could get Fuyuhiko or someone else. And while we’re eating, you could help me with my homework?”

_ Oh. Well I am hungry so… _

**Hajime:** “I could eat.”

**Leon:** “Thought so. Ya always seem to have an uncharacteristically large stomach. Did ya-”

**Hajime:** “Pick it up from Nekomaru? Probably.”

**Leon:** “Alright. Let’s go!”

_ Grabbing my arm, Leon began to run to the door leaving the roof. I felt panicked and slightly annoyed at how sudden this was, but I didn’t particularly mind. _

* * *

**[Night]**

**Taka:** “WHERE WERE YOU?!”

**Yasuhiro:** “I was out at the bar brooooo.”

**Taka:** “WE HAVE A BAR HERE! And besides, we’ve discussed this already. No going out at night without both your Evoker and someone else to accompany you.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Geez I got it.”

**Taka:** “And FUYUHIKO! You need to do the thing.”

_ Fuyuhiko, who was in the living room writing on a piece of paper, stopped and turned around to face the black haired boy. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “Can you fucking lay off of me I’m trying to do my homework… bastard, no wonder you’re a part of the student council.”

**Taka:** “Oh, well then you can continue to do what you do.”

_ Taka went towards the dining room table where me and Takaaki sat. Takaaki was asleep, his face planted on the table as he quietly murmured about his job. I was reading some of the history books provided to us as students, before looking up and sighing as Taka sat down next to me. _

**Hajime:** “So I see you’re back to being… you.”

**Taka:** “I don’t really get what that’s supposed to imply, but I guess??? Anyways, Fuyuhiko went to his family today, and that concerns me since, you know, he’s a part of the Kuzuryu family and all that. And he didn’t have Gozu with him, which makes me even more concerned. Plus there’s his attitude which-”

**Hajime:** “Well considering we all haven’t gone missing, I think it’s fair to say that we don’t need to really worry about anything.”

**Taka:** “Don’t interrupt me!”

_ Gesturing to the sleeping Takaaki, the student council president slapped his face. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Taka:** “Hey, where’s Mahiru and Gozu anyways? Didn’t Mahiru have the apology thing planned?”

**Hajime:** “The two of them went out to hunt some Shadows… though I feel like Gozu was a bad idea to go through with that.”

**Taka:** “And-”

**Hajime:** “Leon was getting ready for the whole thing the two of us are going for, and Nekomaru… I don’t know.”

_ Taka put his hand over his mouth, his brows furrowed as if he was thinking of something that I couldn’t comprehend.  _

**Taka:** “I see…”

**Hajime:** “Something’s on your mind…”

**Taka:** “Eh, it’s probably nothing.”

  
  
**Hajime:** “So… want to check up on Leon?”

**Taka:** “U-uh sure.”

_ Leaving the living room, I felt somewhat anxious. Primarily because I can’t really gauge what type of music Leon likes. Taka looked nervous too, with him even sweating a bit and looking back at his father, who was still asleep. We both approached Leon’s dorm room, trepidation in my heart. Taka, who was red as a tomato, knocked on the door with a bit of embarrassment. _

_ Leon opened the door, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing pajamas, along with a Sex Pistols shirt which looked a little small for him, given his muscles. His rings were off of his fingers along with his ear piercings, and his hair was a mess, instead of the spikes it normally was. The last thing I noticed was a bright white bandage on his arm. _

_ So that’s the type of music he listens to eh? _

**Taka:** “LEON WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? AND YOUR ROOM!?!”

_ Taka stormed into the room in frustration. I peeped my head into my room, where I saw the sight of Taka’s rage. _

_ The room was absolutely messy. There were comic books and video game cases everywhere. Leon’s Evoker was on a table covered with pieces of blank homework pages and… provocative magazines. The room had dozens of posters strewn about, and clothes were hanging off of a string in front of his window. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Taka:** “Clean this room right now or I’ll have my Persona do it!”

**Leon:** “Listen, babe, I get that ya wanna do this but Hajime is also here and I’m not sure I’d want to be naked in front of him.”

**Taka:** “B-babe?! Wha-What heinous word is that? ALSO WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!”

**Hajime:** “Leon, I don’t think that’s why he came here.”

**Leon:** “O-oh! I am so sorry Hajime!”

**Taka:** “APOLOGIZE TO ME TOO!!!”

_ Leon muttered something under his breath, before walking over to his bed. Sitting down on his bed, Leon stretched his arms, before grabbing the guitar sitting beside the edge of his bed. _

**Taka:** “Why is your room so messy? I mean, it hasn’t even been a month Leon.”

**Leon:** “I appreciate the worry but I also wanna say one thing; it’s all organized chaos bro.”

**Hajime:** “Organized chaos? What on earth.”

**Leon:** “Eh. Now anyways, what'd ya want me to play?”

_ The two of us both paused, steel cold hesitation flowing through us all. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Leon:** “...Geez. You two don’t listen to music?”

**Hajime:** “Well I…”

**Taka:** “Well this would be the first time so…”   
  
_ Leon gawked at us, almost like we were a pair of chickens. _

**Leon:** “Alright you two, listen to what I’m playing and just let it get to ya.”

**Taka:** “Weird phrasing…?”

_ And with that, my eardrums died. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Leon played aggressively on his guitar, and my ears felt like something was grating onto my ears. Taka wasn’t handling it much better, although there is a bit of a joyful look on his face. Leon looked like he was fully enjoying himself in its entirety. _

_ Once Leon finished playing, he looked disappointed at the two of us. _

**Hajime:** “I have concerns on if this room was soundproofed or not beforehand…”

**Leon:** “Wow… did I play bad? I’m sorry if I did ya guys.”

**Taka:** “NONSENSE! You did an amazing job!!!”

**Leon:** “Taka… A-!”

_ Leon turned towards me, clearly embarrassed. _

**Leon:** “HAJIME! What did you think?!”    
  
**Hajime:** “Not really my taste. But at least I’m not Mahiru, who’d probably flick you in the head.”

**Leon:** “...Well I appreciate that at least.”

_ Giving a small chuckle, Leon gave out a yawn. _

**Leon:** “You know… I think yer both getting real tired, right? So why don’t ya both go to bed.”

**Taka:** “Yeah I think that would be pretty… “rad”, isn’t that right Hajime?”

**Hajime:** “Please don’t use slang ever again.”

**Taka:** “FINE THEN!”

_ Storming off, Taka went to his room in a bout of rage. _

**Leon:** “Well… see ya later Hajime.”

**Hajime:** “Goodnight.”

* * *

**[4.27.2010]**

**[Morning]**

**Takaaki:** “Alright, what did you two find last night?”

_ The question was sudden and unprompted, and Mahiru looked a little surprised by it. However, Gozu stepped forward. _

**Gozu:** “Well, the two of us found a light which we presume is from the Mono Tower. However, it wasn’t originating from Hope’s Peak, which hasn’t transformed into the Mono Tower since the whole… thing with the Dark Hour.”

**Mahiru:** “Instead, it was originating from  **Senso-Ji** over at  **Nakamise Dori** , over at the other side of the bridge.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Why over there?”

**Nekomaru:** “Well… we don’t know, do we? AAAH! Now I just want to find out all about this shit AND JUST END IT!”

**Taka:** “Calm down Nekomaru.”

_ Fuyuhiko, who came out of the bathroom, looked around at all of us in confusion. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “What the fuck are you assholes talking about?”   
  
**Takaaki:** “Well we were talking about how the Mono Tower, or at least part of it, was discovered.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Oooooh…”

**Leon:** “Yeah... anyways, you got a plan for that, Takaaki?”

**Takaaki:** “Well, I want to split people into two different groups for the night. One will just continue to patrol the city like yesterday. That will be Mahiru, Taka, and Leon. The other group will head over to Nakamise Dori. That will be Hajime, Yasuhiro, Fuyuhiko, and Gozu. Is that alright with you guys?”  
  
**Fuyuhiko:** “Oh god…”

**Hajime:** “Yeah that’ll be fine.”   
  


_ Takaaki clasped his hands together and gave a scowl, before transitioning his face into a cheerful smile.  _

_ Once again, a feeling of boredom washed over me. This time, however, it felt stronger, like something scratching my head. I brushed my hair as I set my eyes on Nekomaru, who walked out of the front door. _

_ Why am I feeling this way? _

_ I began to move my arms in order to keep them from getting tired. But as I did that, Fuyuhiko walked towards me while everyone else dispersed from the room. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “I hope you know that this, but don’t you dare fuck shit up tonight.”   
  
_ O-okay??? What does that mean and what did I do to you? _

**Fuyuhiko:** “I can see with your face that you know what I mean, so I’m glad you understood.”

_ Fuyuhiko briskly walked away, and now my boredom was escalated to new heights… Maybe I should hang out with someone. Someone who I haven’t really interacted with. _

_ Picking up my phone, I began to put in a random number from my memory. _

* * *

**_~Hajime:_ ** _ Hey Kaito. It’s been a while since we last talked. _

**_~Kaito:_ ** _ Oh it’s you! How’s it going! And yeah, it’s been a while. I believe the last time we talked was at the pier _

**_~Hajime:_ ** _ Yeah, that’s right. I’m kind of feeling a bit off and I just felt like talking to you would be a good option. _ _   
_ _   
_ **_~Kaito:_ ** _ Aaaaaaahhh… well if you want you can hang out with Shuichi and me. :) It’s been getting kinda boring on our end as well, y’know, with jobs and all that _

**_~Hajime:_ ** _ I’m just going to ignore the fact that you used an emoticon and say yes. _

**_~Kaito:_ ** _ AWESOME! Alright, let’s meet at that one beef bowl place near that 8-Twelve place!!! Shuichi loves it _

* * *

_ Putting my phone at my side, I got up and thought about what exactly I should do next.  _

**Leon:** “Aaaahhh… so yer gonna hang out with them eh? Coolio.”

**Hajime:** “WHAT are you d-doing looking at my phone?”

**Leon:** “Eh, I was just observing ya. Ya seem like ya wake up as a slightly different person each time, and I find that interesting.”

**Hajime:** “What do you mean?!”

**Fuyuhiko:** “QUIET DOWN YOU TWO I’M TRYING TO DRINK MY COFFEE IN PEACE!”

**Leon:** “What’s up his ass lately.”

**Hajime:** “Who knows. Anyways, I’m going to go.”

**Leon:** “Have fun bro!”

**Fuyuhiko:** “I SAID BE QUIET!”

_ Walking out the dorm, I felt a tiny little pain at the back of my head. It felt like someone slapped me with a tentacle, before injecting a needle into the spot I was hit. Ignoring that, I started heading towards the Tobu Isekai line in a sudden daze. _

* * *

**[Morning]**

_ The beef bowl shop was tiny compared to the two buildings it was sandwiched between. The brown and black coloring was pleasant to look at, and the green sign which said “Come on in!” looked inviting enough. _

_ Stepping inside, it was pretty much empty, aside from an old couple and- _

**Kaito:** “YO! Over here.”

**Shuichi:** “You didn’t need to yell, you know.”

_ I walked over to the two, sighing as I did so. Sitting down on a surprisingly comfortable green chair, I noticed that Shuichi’s hat was off, revealing the entirety of his hair. It was genuinely cute. Kaito had a goofy grin on his face as he rubbed his beard. _

**Kaito:** “So… why’d you pick us eh? I mean, you must’ve had a bunch of other people around your age.”

_ What was my reason for picking you two? I honestly don’t know. _

**Hajime:** “Honestly, I don’t have an answer for that.”

**Shuichi:** “Well, you don’t really need to have a reason. After all, sometimes it's just nice to hang out with others, even without a purpose. Isn’t that right… Kaito.”

**Kaito:** “DUDE WHAT ARE YOU EVEN-!”

_ Shuichi, who had been holding a cup of tea, started to slurp quite loudly. _

**Shuichi:** “Voice.”

_ Kaito put on a brief look of horror, before returning to his joyful self. _

**Kaito:** “Awww I can’t be mad at you~~!”

_ Kaito began to smother Shuichi in a wide hug. I chuckled a bit at Shuichi’s embarrassed reaction, which reminded me a bit of what me and Nekomaru used to be like. _ _   
_ _   
_ **Hajime:** “Heh… you two are really cute together.”

_ Kaito, realizing what he was doing, swiftly removed himself from Shuichi and started sweating profusely. _

**Kaito:** “You saw nothing.”

_ Shuichi leaned towards me, a tiny smirk on his face as he whispered to me. _

**Shuichi:** “Ignore him. He’s just really, really goofy. You understand, right?”

**Hajime:** “Trust me, I know just as well as you do.”

**Kaito:** “Anyways. LET’S EAT!!!”

* * *

**[Afternoon]**

_ As I exited the book store, I felt warm and fuzzy inside from all the meat I ate at the beef bowl shop, and from all the walking. Kaito seemed even more energetic than he was when I first saw him today, and Shuichi looked like he was halfway between vomiting and passing out. He was being carried on Kaito’s shoulders as the purple haired man began to whistle a familiar tune out of his lips. This felt nostalgic for some reason, and overall it was a nice change of pace for me. _

_ Kaito looked around the buildings the three of us were passing by, before looking directly at me. _

**Kaito:** “What’s your opinion on space?”   
  
_ Huh? _

**Hajime:** “Well… I think space is interesting and all that, but it’s not something I think about everyday.”

**Kaito:** “Ah, well that’s fine with me. After all, as the Luminary of the Stars, it’s important for me to know what my friends opinions on space are!”

_ Well it’s nice to know that he at least considers me a friend. _

**Hajime:** “Why do you like space so much? And what’s with the “Luminary of the Stars” thing?”

_ Kaito gave off a goofy chuckle, before he stopped walking. Looking up at Shuichi, I noticed that he was dozing off already. Kaito set him down on a nearby bench. _

**Kaito:** “Man he likes sleeping so much… would you like the short version or the long version?”

**Hajime:** “Short version please!”

**Kaito:** “Well, for my interest in space… I had a tumor in my back when I was younger. Made it incredibly difficult for a lot of things, resulting in me having to stay inside a hospital building for months on end as various things were done to get rid of it. I always had a view of the outside whenever I was in the hospital… and well, when you get to see the stars while trapped in a building like that for a long time, you start to grow an appreciation for it. Hell, for the longest time, I wanted to be an astronaut… until Shuichi and  **Maki** came into my life.”

_ Maki? _

_   
_ _   
_ **Kaito:** “As for the “Luminary of the Stars title”... it’s just something I gave myself. It makes me feel nice and all that. Though it really caught on because of my ex, Maki.”

**Hajime:** “Maki was your ex then.”

**Kaito:** “Yep. We were really close, and after some events we kinda got together in high school… however, certain topics came up... and we had a disagreement over some stuff.”

_ Oh.... well this is awkward. _

_   
_ **Kaito:** “There were some other factors to it, but I wouldn’t want to get into that. Besides, now I have this guy here.”

**Hajime:** “So you’ve finally admitted to me that you’re dating him, eh?”

**Kaito:** “Well I don’t really feel like hiding it with you anymore… I don’t get why. But it feels like I can trust you with stuff like that.”

**Hajime:** “Alright then.”

_ I looked over at the sky, and that’s when I realized that the sun was beginning to set. _

_ How long was I out!? _

**Hajime:** “Well I think it’s time I get going.”

**Kaito:** “Oh right, with that “Dark Hour” stuff.”

_ WAit how do you know about that? _ _   
_ _   
_ **Kaito:** “I can see that you’re panicking over why I know this. Well… Leon doesn’t keep his mouth shut for anything when it comes to Shuichi.”

_ Well that’s not a shocker to anyone. (Oh goddamn it.) _

_ Wait… what was- _

**Kaito:** “Well, see you somewhere in the future. And remember, the stars will always be watching you!”   
  
**Shuichi:** “Huuh…?”

**Kaito:** “Just go back to sleep Shuichi!”

_ As I began to walk away, I heard Kaito shouting with Shuichi in the distance. Once again, I was reminded of how me and Nekomaru were like, with his eager and gung ho attitude always making me feel drained yet also relaxed. _

* * *

_ Getting back to the dorm, I was surprised to see that everyone besides Yasuhiro was out in the living room. Everyone looked like they were somewhat bummed out by something. _

**Taka:** “Hajime! I need to ask you something!”

**Hajime:** “What is it Taka?”

  
  
**Taka:** “Have you seen a missing knife anywhere?”

_ A missing knife? _

**Hajime:** “Uh, no. I was out hanging out with friends of mine the whole day.”

**Taka:** “Well then I guess that makes you clear… I guess.”

**Leon:** “Why don’t ya explain why yer so concerned about a missing knife to him. After all, I’m curious about this too.”

**Taka:** “Alright then. Well, today I was washing the dishes since apparently me, Gozu and Mahiru are the only ones who do that! And well, I noticed that one of the kitchen knives was missing. AND WHO KNOWS WHAT HARM CAN BE DONE WITH IT!”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid here?”

**Taka:** “Of course not. But if it comes to it, I’ll clean out your rooms if I need to.”

**Fuyuhiko & Leon: ** “WAIT WHAT!?”

**Taka:** “So please, whoever did it, just confess.”

_ Despite that, nobody really confessed to taking it. Instead they resumed just doing whatever they thought was needed at that moment. Taka leaned into my ear with an exasperated expression. _

**Taka:** “Why is nobody taking this seriously? I mean, this might potentially be a bad deal depending on who took it.”

**Hajime:** “Well, that’s probably due to the fact that it’s almost nighttime.”

**Taka:** “OH RIGHT!”

_ Mahiru cautiously approached the two of us, her crossbow was slinged around to her back. _

**Mahiru:** “How did you forget that? Were you so worried about that knife that you forgot about the fact that we were going to be traversing the… wait what should we call it.”

**Taka:** “What we call it is now irrelevant. And yeah… maybe I did get too caught up in that.”

**Hajime:** “Taka it’s alright. There is a good reason for something to get worried about something like that.”

**Mahiru:** “Well you might want to grab your stuff you two.”

**Taka:** “Alright!”

* * *

**[Night]**

_ Soon enough it was nighttime. Something that, despite being aware that Shadows roa _

**Taka:** “Alright everyone, do you remember what you guys are gonna be doing tonight?”

**Leon:** “Babe, we do know. I appreciate the concern but still.”

**Taka:** “Why do you call me babe?”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Who cares what he calls you, let’s go.”

**Mahiru:** “Why’re you in such a rush.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Well, last night I was told by Gozu that you only found two Shadows. However, the number might’ve increased by then.”

**Yasuhiro:** “I mean that’s not an unfair assumption.”

_ Yeah, that could be worrisome. _

**Yasuhiro:** “Also, where’s Takaaki?”

**Nekomaru:** “Well, the police have started to get involved due to fairly obvious reasons. So I seriously doubt that he’d be joining us at all at any point or anything since now that the… Dark… Period thing has become a bit relevant to more than everyone in the city.”

**Yasuhiro:** “Huh… well it makes sense I guess.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Guys let’s GO!”

**Gozu:** “Alright master. Lead the way.”

_ Me, Fuyuhiko, Gozu and Yasuhiro all left the building first, with Fuyuhiko groaning and complaining about random stuff as he charged on ahead towards the bridge, ignoring the people who were staring at our guns and weapons. Looking back, I saw Taka, Mahiru and Leon walk out of the dormitory as well, with Leon having a stupid grin on his face. However it wasn’t time to be extremely worried for those three, since I had to worry about at Senso-Ji. _

_ The bridge was surprisingly quiet despite the fact that coffins aren’t a concern anymore. Instead, there were several police cars and barricades. _

**Fuyuhiko:** “What the shit is this?!”   
  
**Gozu:** “They appear to be trying to separate both sides. As for the reason, I can’t really figure out why they would do this.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “Could it be because of the piece of the tower that’s at the temple?”   
  
**Yasuhiro:** “Probably. I mean, it makes sense for people to not be alright with buildings turning into towers when it becomes nighttime.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “So how the fuck are we going to get through this one now!!”

**Hajime:** “Hmmmmm… maybe we’re going to have to do something bad.”

**Nekomaru:** “Or maybe I could help you.”

**Fuyuhiko:** “JESU-Why did you just appear like Batman after having a line of cocaine and asskicking.”

_ What? _

**Nekomaru:** “Well you see, all you gotta do is just tell them that you’re a part of  **SEES** .”

**Fuyuhiko:** “SEES?”

**Nekomaru:** “Yeah, it’s just something that kinda… came up in my head a while ago and Takaaki just-Ah anyways, JUST DO IT!”

  
  


**Yasuhiro:** “Okay okay okay!”   
  
_ SEES? Nekomaru… I’m sorry for thinking this, but that’s such a stupid name. _


End file.
